A Place Like Home...?
by Kokiri7656
Summary: Condensed. Long intro, but the other chapters aren't too long. Two villains plot their revenge and it involves a parallel Hyrule and the fabled Majora's Mask. Saria, Princess Zelda, Malon, and Link each share respective memories on a seemingly peaceful
1. Part 1: Peaceful day...normal day...or i...

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture, Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  


(Standard message: The chronology goes 'Search for 12', the 'A New Evil' trilogy, and 'An Issue of Truth'. If you haven't read them yet, I encourage you to do so before moving on.)

  
Part 1  


A morning sun shined down on Hyrule that day. It was enough to foreshadow a beautiful day for all. And maybe there would be. The sun shone down everywhere. Everywhere, that is, except the Hyrule Castle dungeon.

It was a long two months, but Knigma was starting to get used to life as a prisoner. Of course, he couldn't help but remember his glory days. He was once on top of the world as the editor of the _Hylian Informer_. As the source and main reporter of Hyrule's favorite tabloid, he became the most respected and trusted man in Hyrule Castle Town, and even beyond. But then he met Drekkin.

Drekkin was the ambitious sorcerer, who was the king's most loyal and trusted advisor. Or so it seemed. When the king left Hyrule briefly to conduct some business, he left his daughter, Princess Zelda, in charge. That's when Drekkin decided to show his true colors. He would enact a plan that would turn the people of Hyrule against her and lead the wizard to the throne. That led him to Knigma.

Being such a trusted personality, Drekkin believed that Knigma could sway the people to believe anything he said. Even if it wasn't true. That's when Drekkin offered him vast riches to assist in his plan. Knigma didn't want to at first, but then he looked at his situation. While he WAS the editor of a highly popular tabloid, he didn't have much to show for it. He had hardly any rupees and was living off cupboards that were nearly empty. The only thing Knigma had was the trust of the people. He then made his choice. He would gladly sacrifice his trust to get rich. The sorcerer even assured Knigma that no one would find out the truth behind the printed lies, and that the editor would go down in history. So he began writing down personal records in his scrolls.

Knigma went on to write about various disasters. Among were an avalanche caused by Gorons, the Hylian water supply blocked by Zoras, and the Gerudo Valley bridge being destroyed by Gerudo thieves (with casualties even). But they weren't actually committed by Gorons, Zoras, and Gerudo, but by the sorcerer, Drekkin. Knigma smiled. He couldn't think of these 'disasters' without remembering his crown jewel. He supposed he should be happy that the boy, Link, started getting suspicious, for that was the basis of his biggest stroke of genius. Knigma managed to lure out Saria, the Forest Sage, out of her domain and send her to Lon Lon Ranch, thanks to a fake note written by the editor himself. And when she and her friend got there, Drekkin lit the entire ranch on fire. Three passing royal messengers, a coincidence arranged by Drekkin, were all Knigma needed to turn the people against the two Kokiri. And through them, he exposed Link and Princess Zelda as being 'friends' to the hated Kokiri. The outraged Hylians managed to chase them out of the town, leaving the throne for Drekkin. Knigma felt proud. There was a sense of pleasure that came only with playing the Hylians as complete fools.

Then it all went downhill.

Knigma underestimated the cleverness of the boy, Link. The boy in the dress managed to have the two Kokiri infiltrate the castle and steal Knigma's scrolls, which contained every detail of the massive conspiracy. But it wasn't all bad. He managed to get the girl, Saria, before she could escape. If Knigma had his way, he would have traded her for the scrolls on the spot. Or he probably would have killed her. But that's not what Drekkin wanted. He HAD to do things his way.

Drekkin demanded that Princess Zelda meet them the next day to sign over the kingdom to him and return the scrolls in exchange for Saria. Knigma groaned in his mind. It was usually he with the bright displays of charisma, but the sorcerer had quite an ego as well. Drekkin could have claimed the throne in Zelda's absence, but instead he wanted the satisfaction of Zelda GIVING him the throne. The foolish wizard couldn't see that they were being set up.

The next day, Zelda met with Drekkin and Knigma. Knigma got his scrolls back and Drekkin was about to sign for the kingdom, but that's when it all fell apart. The princess had them incriminate themselves, not knowing that there was a huge audience of Hylians behind the curtain. Knowing they were beaten, Drekkin went into a rage and attacked Link. But Link managed to put Drekkin on ice, literally.

Knigma ultimately couldn't take the reality of defeat. When he was threatened by Link's sword, Knigma welcomed it. He even tried to provoke the boy into swinging. But Zelda and Saria chose to spare his life. But Knigma felt it was out of spite, rather than compassion. For Knigma had to endure the worst pain imaginable. He had to REFUND everyone's money, leaving Knigma broke and in the dungeon. Knigma was only left with two things: the regalement of having played everyone for saps, and a thirst for revenge against those who imprisoned him. A thirst for revenge against Saria, Zelda, the farm girl, Malon, and ESPECIALLY Link. A thirst, unfortunately, that will remain unquenched.

Knigma looked over to the large stone cell. A cell created especially for the sorcerer, Drekkin. There were no visible holes. There were only holes for breathing, but not for sight. Iron bars also surrounded the stone cell. No expense was spared to insure that Drekkin would not escape, for he had quite an array of magic powers.

Then…an unusual sound. It came from…within the cell. The sound was followed by chuckling. Sinister chuckling. But more than that, familiar chuckling.

"Drekkin, what are you doing in there?" Knigma asked dryly.

"It is nothing of your concern," the sorcerer replied. "Leave me be. I'm busy."

Knigma's curiosity rose. "Come on, Drekkin. We've known each other for months. You can't keep anything from me. What are you doing? Come on, tell me! Please!"

"Quiet!" the sorcerer said firmly. "The guards will hear you!"

"What guards?" Knigma grinned. "They're outside. They can't hear a thing. Now tell me, what are you doing? Come on, buddy…I thought we were in this together."

A beat.

Drekkin began his elaborate explanation. "When we were first thrust in this cesspool, I vowed that they wouldn't hear the last of me. I vowed revenge. Revenge against all those who foiled my plans and threw in this prison. And there are quite a few who must pay. The forest girl, Saria, Princess Zelda, the farm girl, Malon…"

"And…?"

"I was getting to that!" Drekkin snapped. "And of course I must take revenge against the foolish boy who didn't know when to mind his own business. I will have my revenge against Link. He shall be punished for his insolence."

"I'd love nothing than to believe that," Knigma said doubtingly. "Don't get me wrong, you could wipe them all out if you had the chance. And it'd be great to see them all get what's coming to them. But that raises the obvious question. How are you going to reach them from in here?"

"Do not worry about that," was Drekkin's response. "I have an idea already in mind. An idea, that when all is said and done, will result in them all being much worse off than us. I WILL have my revenge."

"How?"

Drekkin braced himself for the long briefing. "My friend, are you aware of the concept of a 'parallel universe'?"

"Parallel universe," Knigma repeated. "Is that what I think it is?"

"A parallel universe is a universe that exists just like this one. And in the parallel universe exist people and things that exactly resemble the people in this universe, only they're different. The differences can vary from minor contrasts to utter and complete opposites of the people who dwell in this universe."

Knigma scoffed. "Ha! Fairy tales!"

"Oh no, my friend. Do not dismiss them as mere fairy tales. Parallel universes do exist and are very real."

"How do you know that?" Knigma asked mockingly. "Have you ever BEEN to a parallel universe?"

"Being a wizard, I know that not only do parallel universes exist, but they can even be accessed through a series of chants and spells. And I know of one in particular that we can use. Let me ask you something Knigma…"

A beat.

"…Are you familiar with the Legend of Majora's Mask?"

Knigma curled his lip. "I may have heard something about that. But you seem to be the all- knowing sorcerer today. Why don't you tell me?"

Drekkin took a deep breath. "The legend goes that there was once a rogue creature of the forest known only as 'Skullkid'. Through a doorway, he managed to make his way into a parallel universe followed closely by a Kokiri child. The Kokiri child looked around him to see that the universe was exactly like the one he just left, with the exception of the people who were each different from the ones he once knew from his home. The place was called Talmina and the land of Talmina was in danger. Skullkid wore a mask called Majora's Mask. Through the power of the mask, Skullkid managed to send the moon on a collision course with Talmina. The Kokiri boy confronted Skullkid in a valiant effort to save Talmina from the moon. But it was discovered that it was not Skullkid with the dark intentions. He was not the evil one, but rather the evil one was the Mask of Majora itself. To make a long story short, the Kokiri boy prevailed over Majora's Mask and subdued it long enough to return to its rightful owner, the owner of the Happy Mask Shop."

"Balderdash," sneered Knigma. "Just more fairy tales."

"Let me assure you that this is NOT a fairy tale," Drekkin growled. "It is very true. In fact, it may be closer to us than we may think."

"How so?"

"The legend also goes on to say that the Kokiri child may not have been a Kokiri at all. They say it was a Hylian in a Kokiri's clothing. Who do we know that's a Hylian in Kokiri's clothing?"

Knigma knew the answer to that. "You mean…? No. It can't be. You can't mean that kid in the dress? You can't mean that kid, Link, was actually sucked into some parallel universe. It's…crazy. It's impossible. The odds of that happening are…"

"…The same as Link being the Hero of Time?" Drekkin interrupted. "The same as Link saving all of Hyrule from the Gerudo King, Ganondorf?"

That thought made Knigma think. He didn't know much about the Legend of Majora's Mask, but he definitely knew of the Legend of the Hero of Time. And he knew THAT was no fairy tale. "You really think that was him?"

"I KNOW that was him," Drekkin said assuredly. "And if it's true that Link saved Talmina, then the legend is true. And that means that Majora's Mask is real."

"Just what are you saying? What's your point? What's your plan?"

Drekkin began his sinister laughter. "The knowledge of parallel universes will serve us well. Not only do I know of the land of Talmina, but I also know of a THIRD parallel universe. Only this one resembles Hyrule EXACTLY. The only differences are the people."

Knigma was getting irritated with the side talk. "The point?"

"My plan is to enact a series of spells and sorcery from within my cell. When these spells take full effect, they will suck whomever I wish into the portal and into that third universe. The parallel universe of Hyrule. I shall have the portals take in those who have assisted in our imprisonment. I shall create portals in the Forest Temple, the courtyard in Hyrule Castle, and in Lon Lon Ranch. I will have the portals take in the girl Saria, Princess Zelda, the farm girl, Malon, and the Hero of Time, Link.

"When they are sucked in, it will then be time for me to go into the portal. If the Legend of Majora's Mask is true and the theory of parallel universes is accurate, then Majora's Mask should be held by the owner of the Happy Mask shop in the parallel Hyrule. Once I have the mask in my possession, I shall destroy them all."

"But you said the mask is evil," Knigma pointed out.

"So am I!" barked Drekkin. "We'll be a perfect match. I'm not some goofy skull kid without any knowledge of the world. I am a very dangerous sorcerer. And I have magic powers that make even the mightiest wizzrobes cringe with fear. I will possess Majora's Mask and I WILL control it."

"Just one thing," the insane Knigma began. "If you can just go over there and get the mask, then why not just save yourself the trouble. Why even send them over there?"

"Fool!" Drekkin snapped. "Majora's Mask is a very lethal and dangerous thing. Didn't I tell you that it almost destroyed the entire world of Talmina? I can't call upon the moon to crash down into this world. I want to rule this world, not destroy it! But if I can send them to a parallel dimension, then I can destroy that entire world and eradicate them all. And when that happens, I can return to this world, with the Mask of Majora in my possession and rule the world!"

Knigma began to grin widely. "HA! I love it! You're a genius!"

"Thank you," Drekkin said dryly. "You're approval means SO much to me."

"I know it does," Knigma said, completely ignoring the sarcasm in that statement. "So when do we begin?"

"We?" Drekkin said cynically. "Who said 'we' were doing anything? Who said you could come along?"

Knigma remained confident. "Oh, Drekkin, how quickly you forget. As much as you like to go on about your big bad magic and your ugly masks of doom, you forget what an asset I am."

Drekkin cut him off. "Excuse me if I'd forgotten, but just WHAT makes you such a big asset to me? Your trust and respect in the eyes of these people is dead. What use are you to me?"

Knigma was undaunted. "Ah, yes. In the eyes of THESE people. But we aren't going to be around THESE people. We're going to be in a whole NEW civilization. A civilization of trusting people who are going to be looking for a reason why there's a moon falling on their world. In other words, a world of new saps who will be willing to believe anything to be the cause of their impending doom. And face it, you lived a secluded lifestyle inside the castle. You don't know the common folk like I do. You need me, Drekkin. And if you don't need me, then you've got to admit, I'd sure make this a whole lot easier."

Silence.

"Ok, Knigma," Drekkin said. "You can come. Maybe you will serve a purpose. Maybe you CAN be of some use. If anything, I'll need a voice of sanity…"

Knigma gave a wide toothy grin.

"Well, in your case, just barely. But you can be the voice of sanity to those people. I don't think they'll trust a wizard in a mask. There's just one catch, though."

Knigma's grin faded. "What's that?"

"Parallel universes have exact parallels of EVERYONE," Drekkin explained. "Even you. We need to learn of your parallel self's reputation first before charging into this. We don't want to run into confusion."

"I suppose your right," Knigma conceded. "But we'll worry about that later. Remember, we aren't leaving just yet. It's losers first."

"Indeed you're right, Knigma," Drekkin said. "I shall now begin the long process. With this spell begins what shall be a long period of suffering for our enemies. And I'll start with that Kokiri brat, Saria."

Drekkin began chanting his spells. Knigma just looked on attentively. This would be good.

* * *

It was a long time since Saria had to climb this high. But she figured this was a good day to climb. Besides, rather than just go the conventional vine route, Saria wanted to have the element of surprise.

"Saria, it's dark in here."

That was Saria's best friend, Somi. It had been a little over a year since Saria's friends had found their way to the Forest Temple after the Kokiri Village had been destroyed by a Hylian army. It made Saria so happy to see them again, after an absence of five years in which she had left to take a life as the Sage of the Forest. Much to her surprise, it was Link who found them all scattered somewhere around Zora's River and led them to the temple. A lot had happened since then. She had been abducted by the evil shape- shifter, Meyson, she and the young boy, Sodo, declared their love for each other, and they had both been victims of a huge slander story. A story that said that she and Sodo burned down Lon Lon Ranch. But when she wasn't in the face of danger, or in the center of controversy, Saria lived a happy life in the temple, something she never thought she would do again.

"Somi, I'm over here. Come this way," the green-haired girl said. Saria had to remember that although they had been here a year, the Forest Temple was a huge place and Somi still didn't know her way around it completely.

Once Somi finally found Saria, they continued through the dark well. Eventually, they both stopped at a ladder…almost. Saria had to stop Somi before she crashed into the wall. They both climbed the ladder quickly until they reached a door. After opening the door and the one after it, Saria saw her target. Up high in the perch, peering over the courtyard, was the young recluse, Mira.

Saria smiled at the fact that her friend didn't see her or Somi coming. She was just going about her day, as usual. But Saria had something in mind this day. After everything she had gone through in the last few months, she wanted to spend a day with her friends without any interruptions.

"Hey, Mira," Saria called out behind her. The sudden call caught Mira by surprise. She nearly lost her footing and slipped off the high ledge, but Saria and Somi managed to catch her in time.

"Saria!" Mira said breathlessly. "You scared me half to death! Where'd you come from?"

"From the bottom of the well," Saria replied cheerfully. "You can't tell me that you've never noticed it."

"Well, I haven't been here as long as you," was Mira's response.

"I guess that's true," Saria conceded. "But it's hard to believe that you've never noticed those doors before. Do you mean that you climb the vines everyday?"

"Not exactly," Mira said. She looked out to the courtyard and smiled. "I haven't been up here everyday. It's one of the things I like best about the temple. Back in the village, I was always standing up in that one ledge. But here, there isn't just one high spot. There are high places all around that I can stand on. It's nice to broaden my horizons once and a while."

"Oh, Mira," Somi sighed. "You and your high places. In all the years we've been friends, Saria and I have never understood that about you. Why do you like being so high up all the time by yourself?"

"I thought we settled that," Mira frowned. "I thought that we'd just leave it at 'personal reasons'."

"I know that, Mira," Saria said. She wore one of her familiar expressions. "We've always respected your privacy and your reasons for wanting to be up here. But in the last few months I realized something. I've been in the face of death more times than I would have liked to and there might be one day when I may not be able to cheat death like I've done in the past."

"Saria, don't say stuff like that," Somi frowned. "It always scares me."

"I'm sorry," Saria responded. "But it's just that how I've managed to survive wolfos attacks, Deku Scrub attacks, going out into the vastness, being kidnapped by an evil shape-shifter, being hunted down by bloodthirsty Hylians, a large fire, and five years of loneliness in this temple…I'll probably never know how, it might just be the way God meant it to be. But I've learned that I have to cherish the time I have."

"You picked that up from Sodo, didn't you?" Mira asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Saria blushed. "Well…maybe. He showed me that there might not be all the time in the world. When he realized that…he was willing to sacrifice himself so that time wouldn't run out. He was willing to save me and tell me exactly how he felt."

"I still think that's so romantic," Somi said. "It's so…unlike ANY of the boys."

"Has Sodo ever been like any of the other boys?" Mira asked.

Silence. There were voices below. It sounded like the boys. Sure enough, down below were the Know-It-All brother, Dila, Sofa, and Dore, along with Sofa's best friend, Miso.

"I can't believe you lost the weapons!" shouted Dore, the eldest of the Know-It-All brothers from below. "I told it was your turn to watch!"

"I thought it was Sofa's turn to watch the weapons," Dila shot back.

"Not me!" Sofa, the youngest of the Know-It-All brothers, retorted. "I knew it was Dila's turn the whole time. Didn't I, Miso?"

"You did," Miso said, agreeing with his best friend. "But then again, how can I hear anything around here? I'm always busy cutting the courtyard grass."

"Hey, this is our complaining time!" Dore snapped. "And I'm complaining about how Dila lost the weapons!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Ahem…"

The four Kokiri boys turned around to see the stumpy shopkeeper, Domi. Somehow, he had an ear for anything involving business.

"I couldn't help but overhear your dilemma," Domi said with his stone-faced expression. "I have some weapons for sale. A pack of bows, a bag of Deku sticks, and dozens of slingshots. All for a very reasonable price."

"Whatever, Domi," Dore said cynically. "It's all coming out of Dila's pocket anyway."

"What?!"

"You lost them! You pay for them!"

"No way! You can't be serious, Dore!"

"You're not arguing with me on this one, Dila. You're paying!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

Back up at the high ledge, Saria shook her head. "I guess Sodo IS one-of-a-kind. If only the other boys could learn from him."

Unexpectedly, that brought out laughter. Somi and Mira laughed hysterically at that remark.

"The boys learning from Sodo?" Mira repeated. "That's funny."

"Could you imagine the boys being…mature?! If that happened, then it'd be a perfect world," Somi said, still laughing. "Boys are always going to be immature. They can't learn any better."

Saria thought about what she just suggested to Somi and Mira. She started laughing as well at the thought of the boys acting…mature. "I guess it is funny. You see? This is what I hoped to do today. It's been years since it's just been us three, spending the day together. I really missed having days like this with you two."

"You think we didn't?" Mira asked. "We loved having you around, Saria. The village wasn't the same when you left. You left us…empty."

"Yeah," Somi added. "For five years, we lived our lives wondering if you were really dead or lost. We'd never be able to laugh like we were just now, because the reality that you left us was just too…painful."

"You guys really missed me that much?" Saria asked.

"Of course we did," Somi answered compassionately. "You're our best friend. We've had some good times. And we were always there for each other."

"Like when your house burned down?" Saria asked.

Somi frowned. "Now why did you have to bring THAT up?"

Saria giggled. "Because it was a pivotal moment in our friendship. Don't get me wrong it was a terrible thing…"

"It sure was," Mira sighed.

"…But it was a defining moment in our friendship. I remember everything that went down…"

* * *

"Ok, I call this meeting to order!"

As Mido pounded his gavel, Saria took another sip of her Deku juice. Mido didn't seem to learn that no one EVER looked forward to a Kokiri meeting, but he always seemed to call them anyway.

"And I call this meeting to be over!" Miso called out. The remark sent the Kokiri into immediate hysterics…except for Mido.

"I am NOT amused!" Mido shouted.

"That's funny," Rala said. "WE sure are." They all laughed again.

"QUIET!!" Mido shouted. Everyone grew silent. "First order of business…ahem…Sodo, you didn't see anything today on your watch?"

Sodo walked up to Mido. "I saw…nothing."

"Nothing?" Mido asked. "You haven't seen anything in all that time?"

"No, nothing," Sodo repeated. "Sometimes I just think there's nothing out there at all."

"Maybe you'll have better luck tomorrow," Mido said dully. "You may sit down now. Second order of business…we need a stronger plan of defense in case something DID try to get in here."

This sounded familiar. Saria realized that this meeting might have been called as just a way for Mido to reinforce his power as the Kokiri boss.

"But I thought there was nothing out there," Ralo, one of the twins, said.

"Or didn't you hear that?" Fala, the other twin, added.

"I heard everything," Mido said calmly. "But nevertheless, we can never be too sure."

"What's wrong with our current plan of defense?!" Dore shouted. He took offense to Mido's suggestion, since the Know-It-All brothers were the current plan of defense. "We've never failed before, why fix something that's not broken?"

"And I don't deny that you've done a good job," Mido said monotonously. "But I think we can do so much better, though."

Dore looked at Mido sternly. "If I didn't know any better, Mido, I'd say you don't trust us."

"It's not that I don't trust you," Mido shot back, returning the stern gaze. "But I think you may…have lost a step."

"LOST A STEP?!?!" the three Know-It-All brothers exclaimed.

"I'm afraid so," Mido confirmed. "I don't think you've got it anymore."

"They've only been our defense for a few years" Miso called out.

"How could they have lost a step already?" Rala asked.

"I'm just saying is all," Mido said.

Dore was growing angry. "Oh yeah? We'll prove to you we've still got it." With that, Dore, Dila, and Sofa each walked out of the hut.

Saria didn't know what to make of that. She looked at Somi. "What do you think they're going to do?"

"With those three, you can never tell," Somi tried answering.

Soon, all the Kokiri left the crowded hut and went outside to find Dore standing alone in the middle of the village.

"All set?!" Dore called out.

"Ready!"

Saria and the others looked up to see that Dila and Sofa were both standing up near the tunnel to the Lost Woods. They seemed to be holding…

"They aren't holding what I think they're holding, are they?" Somi asked Saria.

Saria almost retched at the sight. "I'm afraid so. They're…dried Deku Scrub chips."

Sodo shook his head. "Where did they get dried Deku Scrub chips?"

Mira sniffed around. "I don't know, but I can smell them all the way over here."

"Get this demonstration over with!" Mido shouted. "It stinks out here!"

"Jeez, Mido, they're just Deku Scrub chips," Dore said calmly. He looked out to see that just about all the other Kokiri were now holding their noses. "Hmm…I guess some people just can't take it."

Dore pulled out his bow and glanced up at his brothers. "Ok, bros. THROW!"

Dila and Sofa each began throwing chips into the air. Dore shot his arrow towards each chip, but couldn't connect with any. The chips each landed on Somi and Mira's hut.

"Great," Somi groaned. "Now I'm going to have to put up with that stench for days."

"HA!" Mido grinned towards Dore. "I knew it. You lost a step, which just proves my point."

"Shut you mouth, Mido," Dore shot back. "It wasn't that I couldn't hit them. It was just that those chips are too dark. I can't see them out here in the dark of the night."

"Oh, Dore," Mido said tauntingly. "You don't have to make excuses for us."

"They're NOT excuses," Dore huffed. "I can hit them, and I will." He glanced at his two brothers again. "Dila, Sofa, go on to Plan B."

"Plan B?" Saria asked Somi.

"If it's anything like Plan A, I may have to have the hut fumigated," Somi said.

Saria looked to see that Dila and Sofa now held in their hands lit Deku sticks. They held the sticks out and lit the Deku Scrub chips on fire.

"There, now I should be able to see," Dore grinned. "THROW!"

As that was said, Deku Scrub chips began flying. With the fire surrounding them, Dore could pick each one off with pinpoint accuracy. The 'oohs' and 'ahhs' were heard with each accurate hit. Dore then turned around to look at Mido.

"What was that about 'losing a step'?" Dore asked with a mischievous grin.

Mido could do nothing but try to cover up his latest defeat. "I suppose it would have been too much work to put together a new defense anyway."

"Wait, Dore!" Sofa shouted from above. "There's one left."

"A good victory target," Dore said to himself. "Ok, THROW!"

The final Deku Scrub chip went flying into the air. But as Dore reached into his quiver, he realized that he had no arrows left. All he could do was look up as the ball of fire flew by…and fell directly on Somi and Mira's hut. Immediately, the lone fire chip ignited the other Deku Scrub chips on the roof, which in turn ignited the entire hut. Soon the hut was consumed in flames.

Mira stood speechless. Somi looked on in horror, but then ran up to Dore. She grabbed his tunic and started shaking him in a panic. "MY HUT'S ON FIRE!! MY HUT'S ON FIRE!! PUT IT OUT!! PUT IT OUT!!"

"S-S-Somi, stop shaking me!" Dore stuttered. "W-We'll get the fire out." Somi let go of Dore's tunic, allowing him to dust himself off. "Dila, Sofa, it's a standard fire drill! Get the buckets!"

As the other two Know-It-All brothers ran to the pond to fill their buckets, Saria tried to comfort her two friends. "Somi, Mira, don't worry. They'll put the fire out." But the emerald girl didn't believe her own words. The fire was beginning to spread. Soon, the other Kokiri boys were also collecting buckets of water to douse the flames.

Yes, the flames were extinguished. The seven Kokiri boys managed to put the fire out with all their buckets of water. But Somi and Mira were nearly left in tears. Their hut, their only home, was left in ashes.

Dore walked up to the two broken girls. "Whoa. I didn't know I was out of arrows. I guess I'll have to chalk that one up to experience. But who knew it could burn down that fast?"

At that comment, Saria did something that was unlike her. She gave Dore a swift kick in the behind.

"Ow!" Dore cried out. "Was it something I said?"

"How can you be so insensitive?" Saria said angrily. "You and your brothers just burned down their only home. They just lost all their belongings and they don't have anywhere to go. And all you can say is 'Who knew it could burn down that fast'? Don't you have anything else to say?"

"Like what?" Dore asked ignorantly.

"How about 'I'm sorry'?" Saria said through clenched teeth.

"Ok, ok," Dore said. He walked over to Somi and Mira. "I'm sorry that we just burned down your hut. I guess you'll be sleeping outside tonight?"

Again, Saria kicked Dore in his posterior, this time a bit harder.

"OW!" Dore cried out again. "You know, I WILL be sore tomorrow morning!"

"Maybe the word 'sensitive' isn't in your limited vocabulary!" Saria shouted. "Don't you have anything else to say?!"

"What?" Dore asked stupidly. "I already said I'm sorry. What else do you want from me?"

"A little more compassion for one thing!" Saria uttered loudly. "Something more than 'You'll be sleeping outside tonight'! I think you should at least offer them some shelter! Open your home to them! You owe them that much!"

"Forget it," Dore said cynically. "Our home's crowded enough as it is. I can't have two more people staying with us. Especially two…girls."

"I can't believe your being this selfish!" Saria said with a stern gaze.

"I'm not being selfish," Dore said calmly. "I'm being sensible. Five people cannot coexist in one hut. They CAN'T stay with us."

"And where are they supposed to go?" Saria asked.

Dore scoffed. "If YOU care so much about them, why don't YOU open up your home to them?"

Saria stood silent. That was an idea that hadn't crossed her mind. She was so busy trying to squeeze some compassion out of Dore, that she missed the obvious solution. Saria was living by herself. She was the only one of the Kokiri to have that luxury, as everyone else had a roommate or two. Why not?

"Ok, then," Saria said. "I may do just that." She walked away from the cynical Know-It-All and walked over to her two friends, Somi and Mira. They looked heartbroken. They were now shedding tears over the terrible loss they just experienced. If anything, Saria could at least be there for them as a friend.

"It's all gone," Somi mumbled to herself. "There's nothing left."

The two girls broke down. Saria couldn't stand to see them cry like this. She offered them each a shoulder to cry and just let them continue weeping bitterly. It really did break Saria's heart to her friends in this kind of pain.

"Somi, Mira, it's ok," Saria tried saying. "It'll all work out."

"How?" Somi asked in between sobs. "Our home is gone. Now where are we supposed to go?"

"I think we both may have missed the obvious solution here," Saria smiled.

"What's that?" Mira asked.

"Why don't you two stay with me?" offered Saria. "I'm the only one living by myself. It wouldn't kill me to share my home. Especially with my two best friends."

"You really mean that, Saria?" Somi asked wide-eyed.

"We wouldn't want to be a burden, Saria," Mira added.

"It's no burden," Saria said assuredly. "I insist. In fact…I kind of want you guys to move in. It'd be a lot of fun to be roommates. In fact, I'm asking you. Will you honor me by moving into my home?"

Somi and Mira looked up at Saria. They dried up their tears and broke into hysterical laughter. Saria couldn't understand it, but they had just burst into all out laughter.

Somi clarified. "Saria, you should listen to yourself. You were talking to us almost like the way you talk to the Deku tree." She fell to one knee amidst the laughter.

Saria smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling a lot better. So what do you say? Will you guys move in with me?"

"Of course we will, Saria," Somi answered. She and Mira ran up and hugged Saria. "And thank you. You really are a good friend."

"Don't mention it," was all Saria could say at that moment. "So shall we go?"

"Let me just get my things," Mira said. Saria and Somi looked at her strangely. "Oh…right." She giggled before joining Somi and Saria on the way to their new life as roommates.

* * *

"It may have taken a while to get used to," Saria continued. "But I can't picture how our lives would have been if your house HADN'T burned down."

"I never saw it that way," Mira said thoughtfully. "I guess it was sort of a blessing in disguise."

"But still, it's something I'd rather forget," Somi said. "I still shudder every time I see a Deku Scrub chip."

Mira giggled. "Who doesn't? Those things stink." Saria and Somi joined in the sudden laughter.

Saria let out a huge sigh. "What happened to us? We always used to be able to have days like this, but even before I left the village, we just…stopped. It used to be just the three of us, best of friends. What happened?"

"I think it's obvious what happened," Somi said matter-of-factly.

"Link showed up," Mira clarified. "When he arrived in the village, we just started paying more attention to him than to each other."

Saria thought about that. "I guess I never really thought about that. When Link showed up, I did start spending more of my time with him. But he was so young. And I was really the only one to acknowledge the fact that he was…different."

Somi and Mira stared weirdly at Saria.

"I mean in a positive way," Saria said more clearly. "Actually, I was pretty much the only one to acknowledge him in a positive way."

"Hey, we…tried," Somi tried saying. "He was just too…weird. We never knew about 'babies' and 'growing up'."

"And he WAS kind of irritating," Mira added. "And for a while…so were you."

"What do you mean?" Saria asked, taking offense to that comment.

"I meant when he was a baby," Mira continued. "Being your roommate was the best thing in the world, Saria. But when we first took in Link, our house wasn't exactly the place to be. Link was crying every night and you were crankier than a Mad Deku Scrub."

"I know exactly what you mean," Saria sighed, as she tried straightening out her green hair. "I remember that one night where we almost completely lost it…well, I almost lost it…"

* * *

"WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

The baby's crying reached unbearable volumes. Saria could only sit down, holding the crying child in her arms. Everything about Saria's features were green, but that night there was a shade of red in the girl. The red was in her eyes, for the green-haired girl hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. Things were definitely shaken up around the forest since this bundle of joy was first discovered. There was only one problem. Most of the Kokiri didn't even know what a baby was, much less how to take care of one. Saria herself even had a hard time understanding what a baby was. It wasn't until she met her Hylian friend, Amanacera, that she realized that there was even such a thing as a baby. But unfortunately, it was Saria who ended up taking care of this infant.

But maybe it wasn't so unfortunate. Saria was starting to get attached to the baby. She even had a name for him. She named the boy Link. It was a cute name and Saria loved it, but she hoped he wouldn't ever have to find out the origin behind his name. She'd hate to see his reaction if he ever found out he was named after a…bodily function.

Nonetheless, having the baby Link around wasn't all joyful. Saria hadn't slept in days and was aching for a night of sleep. She wasn't the only one.

"Saria, isn't he asleep yet?" Somi asked sleepily.

"Not yet," Saria yawned. She looked down at the crying Link. "Please, Link. I want to go to sleep. Please stop crying." Nothing. Link kept on wailing away. "I don't think there's anything I can do. I feel like I've tried everything."

"There has to be something we haven't tried," Mira said, half-asleep. "We can't go on like this. I fell off the ledge today and almost got killed because I fell asleep. If Mido wasn't there to break my fall, I'd hate to think of what might have happened."

"It wasn't that bad, Mira," Somi smiled. "I think Mido got the worst of that collision anyway. You haven't gained weight, have you?"

"Oh, Somi," Mira giggled.

"It's nice to see you two have been having fun," Saria said cynically. "I haven't been able to do anything since this baby arrived. I haven't gone fishing, I haven't gone out to the Lost Woods, I haven't been able to play my ocarina, I…"

"Wait…" Somi interrupted holding out her hands. "Listen."

Silence. Golden silence. Music to Saria's ears.

"He's asleep," Saria whispered. "Sleep…sleep…sounds heavenly right about now." She put the infant Link down in his crib, constructed by Saria, Somi, and Mira themselves. Saria could only be relieved that the wooden crib didn't fall apart. She then lied down in her bed, ready to close her eyes.

"Good night, Saria," both Mira and Somi whispered.

"Good night, Somi," Saria said softly. "Good night, Mira." And she finally closed her eyes, ready to get a good night's sleep at last…

"IT'S ABOUT TIME HE SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Saria slowly rose up, almost zombie-like. She got up to her feet and headed straight for the door.

"Saria, you can't go out," Somi called out, suddenly wide-awake. "You're not dressed."

Pajamas or no pajamas, Saria walked out. She went out slowly until she saw the one who woke up Link. She saw the big-mouthed Mido standing out in front of his house. She s—l—o—w—l—y approached him.

"J-Jeez, Saria," Mido stuttered. "You're a wreck."

Saria didn't say anything. She just reached her arms out, as if she were ready to strangle the loudmouthed Mido. And she was. After all the effort she put into putting Link to sleep, for Mido to shout out and erase a night's work, or even worse, a night's sleep, was too much for Saria to handle at that moment.

"S-S-Saria," Mido gulped. "What are you going to do?"

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Saria immediately took Mido down by the tunic. She shook him heavily, with his head banging the dirt repeatedly. Then she felt two arms try to restrain her.

It was Sodo. "S-Saria, relax. You're going to hurt somebody."

"THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!" Saria shouted. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

Sodo lifted Saria off her feet in an obvious adrenaline rush and carried her towards the pond. Saria soon realized what was about to happen. Then it did. Sodo tossed her into the pond.

Saria gasped for air and stuck her head up out of the water. All she saw was Sodo, looking sternly at her.

"What's wrong with you?!" Saria asked angrily. "Are you trying to make me catch a cold?! Look at me! I'm completely drenched! What are you doing?!"

"I'm cooling you off!" Sodo said harshly. "I think the real question is: What's wrong with YOU, Saria?"

"What do you mean?" Saria asked, trying to dry off her pajamas.

"This isn't like you," Sodo said somberly. "I've never seen you like this. You've been so…angry and even violent lately. You've always been so calm and compassionate. What's happened to you?"

Saria thought about what the peaceful boy just said. The reality hit her hard. Everything he said was true. This had been very uncharacteristic of her. She was always the compassionate one. The sensible one. The…mature one. But lately, she was cranky, irritable, and, as she just showed with Mido, even violent. She did the only thing she could do at that moment. She started crying.

She ran up to Sodo and put her head on his shoulder. "You're right, Sodo. I HAVE been a jerk. I haven't been myself. I'm so sorry."

Sodo patted the weeping girl on the head. "It's ok, Saria. I guess you ARE going through a tough period right now. You don't want to talk about it?"

Saria nodded. She and Sodo took a seat near the pond. Seeing as she already didn't have any boots on, Saria just dipped her feet into the water. Sodo took his boots off and dipped his feet in as well. Saria looked up to see the moon was still out. The night was still young.

"I don't know how, I don't know why, but lately…" Saria sighed. "…I've just been frustrated. Night after night of not getting any sleep just took its toll. But I know that's no excuse for the way I've been acting. I'm so sorry. In fact, I might start making up for it right now." She looked over towards Mido. "MIDO!! Could you come here, please?!"

The Kokiri boss nervously stuck his head out of his house and looked towards Saria. "Y-Y-You're not going to hit me, are you?"

Saria hung her head down. "No, Mido. I just want to say something to you."

Mido walked over to Saria and Sodo. "You aren't still mad at me for waking up the brat, are you?"

"Are you kidding? I'm furious!" Saria huffed. A stern gaze from Sodo quickly reminded her of why she called Mido over. "But I shouldn't have let my anger take over like that. Mido, I'm really sorry for hurting you. Can you forgive me?"

Mido cracked a half-smile. "Of course, Saria. Don't worry about it. And I guess I'm sorry for waking up the twerp. I guess I can try and sleep through that. Maybe I'll just use some earplugs." With that, Mido walked away and back into his house.

"It's a good start," Saria said drearily. "But I'm going to making a lot of apologies tomorrow."

"Assuming you have time," Sodo pointed out.

"D'oh, you're right," Saria said, realizing that she would have to take care of the baby. She was almost ready to cry again. "Sodo, this is too hard. I haven't slept in days. I don't have any idea how to take care of a baby. It's too many headaches, too much responsibility, and too much I don't know about. I don't think I can handle it."

"Saria, do you know why the Deku Tree had YOU take care of the baby?" Sodo queried rhetorically.

"I have no idea," Saria answered. "Why would he ever think I could take care of a baby?"

"Because you CAN," Sodo continued. "Out of all of us, the Deku Tree knows that you can do this. You can be a mother to this child. I mean you have so much that we don't. You have that compassion. You have that leadership. And you have that love that only a mother can provide."

Saria lifted her head up. "Do you really think I can do this, Sodo?"

"I know you can," Sodo smiled. "This may be the hardest part about raising a baby, but it won't stay like this forever. Eventually it'll grow up and it'll all be over. You'll even be able to talk to it. He'll even grow to love you."

Saria didn't say anything. She only looked back to her house. It sounded like Link was still crying. She started to see it all differently now. A life was in her hands, and it was a huge responsibility. But eventually this baby would grow to love Saria. As weird as it sounded, Saria was like its 'mother'. She got out of the pond and got to her feet. She started walking back to her house.

"Wait, Saria," Sodo said suddenly. He walked over to the drenched emerald girl. "Is it ok if I help you tonight?"

"You want to help with Link?" Saria asked in surprise.

"It's the least I can do," Sodo said. "After all, I did sort of leave you a little wet."

"A little?"

"Ok, I left you soaked. Just let me make it up to you."

"Actually…" Saria said slowly. She had an idea. "Go get Dore for me."

"Dore?" Sodo asked strangely. "What for?"

"Just do it."

Saria left Sodo and went into her house and saw that the first sight she saw would be cause for another apology. She completely forgot that in the rush to go hurt Mido, she inadvertently left Somi and Mira alone with Link. They were both sitting melancholy on each side of the crib trying desperately to rock the crying child to sleep.

"Oh, Somi, Mira," Saria said sadly. "I'm sorry I left you two alone with him."

"I hope you're happy," Somi said bitingly. "You couldn't take it, so you left him alone with us."

"As if this hasn't been hard enough on us…" Mira added, before suddenly stopping. "…Saria, why are you soaking wet?"

"Never mind," Saria said. She wore one of her compassionate expressions, something the village hadn't seen in days. "Guys, I'm really sorry for the way I've been acting. But I'm going to make up for it right now."

"How?" they both asked. Just then Dore stood at the door.

"Just the guy I wanted to see," Saria grinned. "How much room do you have in your house?"

Dore immediately saw where this was going. "None!" He quickly tried ducking out, but Saria caught him by the arm.

"Get back here!" Saria chided. "Now you listen to me, mister! This has been hard on all of us, but it's been the hardest on us three. But this baby's MY responsibility and Somi and Mira shouldn't have to suffer through this. So just for tonight, could you open up your home to them?"

"No!"

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear," Saria said through clenched teeth. "Now I realize I've been a jerk lately. I've taken out my anger in all the wrong places, including on my friends. So I'm going to make it up to them by opening up your home to them so they can finally get a good night's sleep. And I'm not the only one who should be making up, if you know what I mean."

"Actually, I don't," Dore said cynically. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Ok," Saria took a deep breath. "It all has something to do with an empty quiver, a stack of Deku Scrub chips, and a FIRE! Does that ring a bell?!"

"Aw, come on," Dore whined. "You mean you still remember that?"

"Never mind," Saria said angrily. "The point is, you still owe them. The least you could do is let them stay the night while I get Link to sleep!"

Dore scoffed. "Fine. They can stay with us. JUST FOR TONIGHT."

Saria turned around and smiled to her two friends. "Girls, I just did you a big favor. Go stay with the boys for tonight and I'll stay here with Link."

"Thanks, Saria," Somi said gleefully. She and Mira started to follow Dore outside.

"And get a good night's sleep," Saria added. "You two deserve it."

When Somi and Mira left, the house was now empty. Empty of everyone except for Saria and Link, who was still crying. She could only pick up the baby Link and sit in a chair. Now all alone, she started to rock him again.

* * *

"Looking back, those could be considered some of the worst days of my life," Saria continued. "But the feeling I had when I held Link in my arms was like nothing I'd ever known, and probably something I'll never experience again. When I look back now, I wouldn't trade those days for anything."

"You did sort of trade our friendship for them," Somi said sadly. "When Link grew up, we just…started going our separate ways."

"Somi, that's not true," Saria responded. "I know I started spending more and more time with Link, but that doesn't mean our friendship ended."

"I know that," Mira added in a similar sad tone. "It ended when you left the forest."

Saria thought about that. She could only ask one question. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

Somi and Mira didn't say anything. They only nodded.

Saria looked concerned. "But we're all together now. You DO believe our friendship will last forever now, right?"

Somi and Mira were still silent. Saria felt hurt.

"R-Right?"

"I'd like to think that, Saria," Somi said somberly. "But so many things have happened, especially lately. What if something really WERE to happen? What happens if you ever leave us again? Then we'll be back where we started. We couldn't stand the thought of our friendship coming to a sudden halt again."

Saria thought about that. Threats from outside forces like Meyson, Knigma, and Drekkin had made their presence felt in their lives. What happens when Saria isn't able to bounce back?

**CRASH**

The three girls jumped at the sudden bolt of lightning. The unusual thing was that it wasn't raining outside. In fact, there wasn't even a cloud in the sky. It was a sunny day.

"W-W-What was that?" Mira asked fearfully.

Silence. There was only the blowing of a cold wind.

"Do you…feel…cold?" Somi asked.

Then…more silence. The three girls could only hear a rumbling noise…growing increasingly louder…coming from behind them.

**CRASH**

They all turned around abruptly and saw that the wind was all blowing towards the door which Saria and Somi first walked in. The wind began growing stronger. It was unusual in that the wind was all converging into that one area. Then the force of the wind blew the door off its hinges.

"W-What's happening?" Somi squeaked timidly.

Saria couldn't understand what was happening. But then something else happened. The air directly in front of her began to split open. She hadn't seen anything like it…not even when a portal opened to the Sacred Realm. That was exactly what appeared to be happening. A portal was opening. But this portal was different. It wasn't the portal of light that she was used to seeing whenever she went to the Sacred Realm. It was different. It seemed to lead into darkness and limbo.

That's when the nightmare really began. Saria felt herself being moved towards the portal. She tried resisting, but to no avail. When she looked over, she saw that Somi and Mira weren't affected at all by the portal's pull. They each grabbed one of Saria's hands and started pulling.

"Somi, Mira," Saria pleaded. "Whatever you do, don't let go!"

But it was too much. The gravitational pull of the portal was too powerful. Eventually, Saria could feel each of her fingers slipping from the grips of Somi and Mira. Finally, the two girls fell backwards and Saria was sucked in.

Into what? She had no idea.

* * *

Somi recovered in time to see Saria get pulled in, screaming, into the mysterious portal. As quickly as it appeared, the portal had disappeared and with it went her friend.

"S-She's gone," was all she could say.

"W-What WAS that?" Mira asked.

"I don't know," Somi responded sadly. "But whatever that was, it's gone now. And so is Saria."

* * *

  
Part 2  


Knigma sat silently in his cell, a rarity for the charismatic one. He waited anxiously as Drekkin was audibly heard from his stone cell, continuing his chants and spells. He had been at it for hours now and Knigma was just waiting for the fireworks to begin. Suddenly, though, Drekkin stopped.

"That's not it, is it?" the confused Knigma asked.

"It is done," the sorcerer responded.

"Pretty quiet for such a big bad spell," Knigma said. "I thought there'd be more of a spark than that."

"Do not let the level of silence fool you, Knigma," Drekkin pointed out. "It has begun. As we speak, the Forest Sage is inside the portal awaiting her ultimate destination. I can sense it. But I am far from finished. There's still the princess I must deal with."

"Oh, of course," Knigma said, trying to cover his disbelief. "Never doubted you for a second."

"I bet you didn't," Drekkin replied sarcastically. "Now, silence. I shall now open the next portal for Princess Zelda."

"Just one more question," Knigma said quickly. "We KNEW where that 'Saria' girl was going to be. She can't leave that place. But Zelda's different, she's the Princess of Hyrule. She could be anywhere."

"Oh, Knigma," Drekkin muttered. "You don't spend years and years as the king's closest advisor and not learn a few things about Princess Zelda's daily routine. Judging by the position of the sun…"

"Sun? You can barely see it from here."

"JUDGING BY THE POSITION OF THE SUN…" Drekkin continued, obviously irritated. "I'd venture to guess that the princess is out in the castle courtyard. In fact, on a day like this, I KNOW she's out there. Well, her serene day will soon be replaced by a nightmare of epic proportions."

With those prophetic words, Drekkin resumed his chants. Knigma eagerly awaited a chance to see the dimensional portal in action. And seeing as the dungeon was so close to the courtyard, he would be able to see the whole thing.

* * *

Zelda sat serenely on the flowerbed in the middle of the courtyard. It had been a little less than two months since her father had come back. Of course, he was more than disappointed to find out that his most trusted advisor, the sorcerer Drekkin, had concocted an elaborate scheme to take the throne. But now Drekkin and his cohort, Knigma, were both in the dungeon and she couldn't be happier. Especially after they almost managed to turn the entire Hylian population against her.

"Ok, watch this."

Zelda turned to see the three Lizalfos, Kreature, Krash, and Og, collectively known as COMBAT each holding bows and arrows and facing the large statue. She almost couldn't believe her eyes at the next sight. On top of one the statues was an apple. Kreature aimed an arrow straight at the apple and fired, but missed a little to left.

"Ha!" Krash mocked. "You missed. Now watch a master."

Krash aimed his arrow and fired. But his arrow missed to the right.

"Oh I didn't doubt you for a second, 'master'," Kreature snickered.

The three lizards continued their game of one-upmanship. Zelda liked having the three lizards around. It may have been one of Zelda's better decisions to let them stay as her personal guards. Not only did it fill a void left by Impa, who left to guard the Shadow Temple, but also it gave the three reptiles the home that they sorely wanted. And seeing as how COMBAT were rejected by Hylian society, it was in the best interests of both parties that they stay with Zelda.

"Ooh, ooh, let me try!" the overzealous Og said. He quickly took out an arrow and shot it towards the apple. Unfortunately, Og missed the target completely.

"OUCH!!!"

Kreature, Krash, and Og took a few steps back when they saw one of the guards approaching. He had an arrow lodged in his posterior.

The guard painfully pulled out the arrow. "You three blockheads again?! It's always something different with you lizards!!"

Zelda got to her feet and walked to the scene of the conflict. "Is there a problem here?"

The guard looked at the princess. "I'm terribly sorry, your highness. But we just can't keep putting up with these Lizalfos. They've got to go."

"On the count of a stray arrow?" Zelda smiled. "You complain too much."

"No really, princess," the guard persisted. "Don't you think it's time to throw these three lizards out. How long will we have to put up with these buffoons?"

"Buffoons?" Kreature asked. "We aren't buffoons."

"We take offense to the term 'buffoons'," Krash added.

Og nodded. "We've been called dopes, chowderheads, nincompoops, and birdbrains. But never buffoons. No way."

The guard ignored the lizards' unique insights. "Don't you believe it's time to end this experiment, princess?"

"Experiment?" Zelda asked indignantly. "Now I'm sorry if you and the others don't like my choice for personal guards, but they're my friends."

"But aren't Lizalfos an odd choice for guards?" the guard asked.

"About as odd as having a Sheikah for a nanny?" Zelda pointed out.

"N-N-Now your highness, that's different," the guard stuttered.

"Quiet!" Zelda snapped. "Now I'm getting tired of these arguments. I'm sorry if you don't like my taste in guards, but I won't just get rid of them. I'll tell you the same thing I've told everyone else. They're here to stay. GET OVER IT!!" Her expression quickly changed to a calm one. "You may go now."

The guard muttered something as he left, probably because Kreature, Krash, and Og were sticking their tongues out behind his back. Zelda gave them a quick glare.

"You three aren't exactly helping either," Zelda said, holding up the arrow. "Can't you be a little more careful?"

"Sure we can," Kreature said confidently. "Just watch this." He aimed another arrow at the apple and let fly. But again, he missed.

"No, no, no," Krash said, pulling out an arrow. "Watch THIS." Krash released an arrow, but he too missed the apple.

"Ha! Amateurs," Og said. "Watch THIS." He pulled out his own arrow and fired…missing completely. His arrow fell on top of the castle roof.

Zelda shook her head. "Can I see that bow, Kreature?"

Kreature handed the bow to Zelda. The princess took out an arrow and aimed at the apple. She let the arrow fly and hit the apple with pinpoint accuracy. She walked over to the apple, picked it up, plucked the arrow, and took a bite. She walked back to the courtyard to a round of applause from COMBAT.

"That was neat, Zelda," Og said in amazement.

Zelda took a bow. "I guess I've still got it."

"We didn't think you've ever had it to begin with," Kreature said. "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

Zelda picked a flower from the ground. "Well, I've never told this story to anyone before…"

"We're listening," Krash said. "We're all ears."

"Ok, then," Zelda said bashfully. "It was a long time ago, back when I was seven…"

* * *

"And what's that, Impa?"

The seven-year old Zelda marveled at the sights she had seen on her way to Zora's Domain. She had never been to the domain before. In fact, this was the farthest she had ever been from the castle. But she was already amazed at some of the sights she had seen.

"That's just a boulder, Zelda," Impa said. "But there are stories that there might be a hidden fairy fountain somewhere over there. No one's ever found it."

Zelda looked on wide-eyed. She was always curious about these sorts of things. "And what's that, Impa?"

"That's the tunnel to the fabled Lost Woods," Impa pointed out. "But it's very dangerous in there. There are man-eating creatures behind that tunnel."

"R-Really?"

The Sheikah smiled warmly. "Don't be scared, Zelda. They won't come out here. Their business is in the forest."

"And if they did come out?"

Impa chuckled. "Come on, Zelda. This is me we're talking about."

Zelda giggled. "You'd kick their butts, right Impa?"

"That's right," Impa said confidently. She stopped the horse at what appeared to be a dead end.

Impa jumped off and put Zelda down. As Impa tied up the horse, Zelda looked at the beautiful sight in front of her. It was a streaming waterfall and her face was full of childish glee.

"You like it, Zelda?" Impa asked.

"It's pretty," Zelda said. "But where do we go now, Impa?"

"Just stand right there," Impa instructed. She took out the Ocarina of Time, something that had been kept in the possession of the royal family for generations. She began to play a familiar tune.

"Impa, I can't sleep now," Zelda frowned.

Impa ignored her and continued playing Zelda's Lullaby. When it was over, the waterfall stopped flowing. There was now a cave exposed.

"H-H-How did that happen?" Zelda asked in childish amazement.

"I'll tell you someday," Impa responded as she picked up Zelda. "Now hang on, dear."

Zelda squealed in shock as Impa jumped the waterfall and into the cave.

* * *

Zelda looked on in awe of the vastness of the cave. There was water everywhere and the sparkling crystals in the rocks were absolutely dazzling. And there were…people…but they looked different. They looked more like…fish people. And one of them approached her and Impa.

"Greetings, Impa," the fish man said. "It's been a while." He ducked down and looked at Zelda. "And you brought the little princess with you. My, my, aren't you just the prettiest little thing? And what's you name, little lady?"

The princess giggled. "Zelda. Why do you look like a fish, Mr. Fish Man?"

"Zelda," Impa scolded. She looked up at the fish person. "My apologies. It's just that Zelda's never seen one of your people before. She doesn't get out much."

"It's ok, Impa. The child's just curious," the fish man said. He bent down to look at Zelda. "I am a Zora. We are the proud aquatic people who make our home here in Zora's Domain. We're quite different from your people."

Zelda just looked on in awe as Impa broke the silence. "Is King Zora available? We need to talk business."

"He's in the throne room tending to Princess Ruto," the Zora answered. "I'll tell you what, Impa. You go see King Zora and leave Zelda here. I'd be more than happy to show her around."

"Could you do that for me?" Impa asked. "Thank you. I appreciate it." She bent down on one knee to look Zelda in the eye. "Now Zelda. Promise me you'll behave yourself."

"I will, Impa," Zelda said mischievously.

Impa wasn't convinced. "You're not crossing your fingers, are you?"

Zelda revealed her right hand, with fingers crossed. "How'd you know?"

"Zelda, I mean it," Impa said seriously. "Be good and don't cause any trouble."

"Ok, Impa. I promise I'll behave."

"That's a good girl," Impa smiled. She got to her feet and looked at the Zora. "Well, she's all yours."

Impa walked away and the Zora waved to her. But the mischievous Zelda just ran out as the Zora's back was turned.

* * *

Zelda wasted no time before jumping in the water. If Impa were around, she'd nag her about getting her dress wet. She'd also complain about this being far from ladylike conduct. But Zelda didn't care at that moment. She just wanted to have fun.

"Ok, fire!"

Suddenly an arrow appeared in the sky above Zelda's head. She looked to see where the arrow came from. She saw a line of what appeared to be young Zora boys and an adult Zora male each holding a bow and arrow. They were aiming for circular targets suspended in mid-air.

The adult Zora addressed what appeared to be his pupils. "That was good. But there's much room for improvement. I'm going to check on the other class. Try again."

As the adult Zora walked away, Zelda's curiosity got the better of her. She walked over to one of the Zora boys.

"What are you doing?" Zelda asked.

The Zora boy held up his bow and aimed for the target. "Target practice. It's a pivotal part of the Zora boy's education."

"Pivo…what?"

"It's really important," the Zora boy clarified. "We have to learn how to use a bow and arrow."

"That looks neat," the princess said in awe. "Can I try?"

"You?" the Zora boy asked. "You wouldn't know the first thing about using a bow and arrow. For one thing you're a girl."

Zelda let that sexist remark slide. She really wanted to try that bow. "Well…that's why I have such a…strong boy like you here to teach me."

The boy blushed. "Come on now. I'm not really that strong, am I?"

Zelda smiled. She was very smart for her age. "Of course you are…and you're handsome too."

"Aw, shucks."

"And I bet you're a really good teacher."

"Well…I guess so. You really want me to teach you?"

Zelda nodded eagerly.

"Ok then." The boy handed Zelda a bow. He tried guiding her arms towards the target. "Now you want to be sure that your eyesight lines up directly with the arrow. That way, you'll be able to control its trajectory. You don't want to pull the arrow too hard. It has to be able to pull back with the bow in perfect synchronization. If not, the result will be shoddy. Ok, now you have the arrow back…you've aimed…now…let go."

The boy let go of Zelda's arms and Zelda let go of the arrow. The arrow flew up and nailed the target with perfect accuracy.

The boy could only look on in shock. "Bulls-eye. You got that on your first try. Are you sure this is your first time?"

Zelda didn't understand. "You mean I did good?"

"Good?" the boy repeated. "It took me days to launch an arrow with that kind of accuracy. You're a natural."

"You really think so?"

Suddenly, the boy shook his head in disbelief. "No. No, it couldn't be. You just got lucky. You couldn't possibly do that again."

Zelda frowned. "I bet you I can."

The boy handed her the bow and arrow. "Show me! Show me you can hit that target by yourself."

Zelda took the bow and aimed it towards the target. She fired and nailed another bulls-eye. She looked back at the boy, who's mouth dropped open in shock, and grinned mischievously. "Told you so."

"I can't believe it," the Zora boy said. "You really ARE a natural. But I bet you can't do THIS."

The boy walked over towards the end of a tunnel. Zelda walked over and peered over the edge. It was a long way down to the water, but hanging in the middle, suspended in mid-air, was another target.

"No one's been able to hit THAT target," the boy said. "And I don't think YOU can either."

Zelda almost felt faint when she saw how far down it was. But she shook that off. "I bet you I can."

"HA! Prove it!"

"I will!" Zelda said boldly. She removed her hat, allowing her long (for a seven-year old) blond hair to flow. She grabbed the bow and made sure to grip it. She looked down and jumped off.

The first thing Zelda did was release the arrow. But after that, Zelda screamed. She was still falling. The only thing she could do was grab a piece of the rocky cliff. She was now hanging on for dear life, with nowhere to go but down. Zelda started sweating nervously. She wished Impa were there.

"Zelda!"

The princess looked down to see that Impa was, in fact, down there standing on a walkway near the water. The Sheikah nanny looked less than pleased.

"Princess Zelda, you come down from there this instant!"

Of course, it wasn't as easy as it looked. "Impa, I'm stuck!"

"Just let go, Zelda," Impa said confidently. "You'll be fine. I promise."

Zelda was afraid, but she also believed in Impa. So she did as she was told. She let go and resumed her long fall. Just as she was about to hit the ground, Impa rushed over and caught her in her arms. Then they both fell into the water. A quick gasp for air later, and Zelda was face-to-face with her nanny again.

But Impa didn't look too happy. "Zelda, you promised me you'd behave yourself. Now look at your dress. It's ruined."

"I'm sorry, Impa," Zelda apologized. "But you should have seen me. It was really neat. I learned how to use a bow and arrow."

Impa wasn't exactly convinced. "Now what have I told you about fibbing? I've been a Sheikah warrior for many years and I know that no one can learn how to use a bow and arrow in mere minutes."

Just as she said that, the little Zora boy came down and swam towards Zelda. His expression was one of awe.

"I can't believe it," the Zora boy said. "No one's ever been able to do it before, but you did it! Your skills are incredible!"

"What do you mean?" Impa asked.

The boy only pointed to the sky. Zelda looked up and she couldn't believe what she saw. There was the target. And somehow, the arrow was lodged in the bulls-eye. Zelda had done it.

"I can't believe it," Impa said in amazement. She shook it off. "Come, princess. It's time to go home."

"Ok, Impa," Zelda said, drying off her hair. She looked at the boy. "Well, I have to go now. But I guess this is something to tell your friends."

"They'd never believe me if I told them," the boy replied. "So this is goodbye…Zelda, was it?"

"That's me," Zelda said proudly. "But I never got your name."

"I'm simply known as Caraton. Just a humble young Zora. Especially in the presence of royalty." He quickly bowed down. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you before. I've never seen a Hylian princess."

Zelda blushed. "You don't have to do that, Caraton. I may be a princess, but I AM just a kid."

Caraton quickly got to his feet. "Well, will you please do me the honor of keeping that bow?"

"Sure, Caraton," Zelda said. "It's the least I can do for such a good teacher."

"Oh, Zelda. I didn't teach you all that. I can't even do that much myself."

Impa cleared her throat.

Zelda tried to wrap this up. "Well, Caraton. I guess it's time for me to go." She jumped into Impa's arms, and began to leave.

"Goodbye, Zelda," Caraton called out. "I'll be sure to spread the word of your uncanny abilities. You might even be a legend someday."

_'Fancy that,'_ Zelda thought to herself. _'The Legend of Zelda. But what are the odds?'_

* * *

"Well that explains a whole lot," Kreature said after hearing Zelda's story.

"I thought Zoras were only good for their odor," Krash snickered.

"Or at least for eating," Og added.

Zelda smiled and held the bow proudly in her hand. "It was the first time I'd ever used something like this. Of course it wasn't the last. There would be some more things I'd have to practice before mastering this."

"More?" Kreature asked.

"Wasn't jumping off a cliff while hitting a bulls-eye enough?" Krash added.

"For me?" Zelda grinned. "Nah, no way. There were a few more skills I'd have to learn. But I'd have to wait a little while before I could learn THOSE. I had to wait for another chance to get out of the castle."

"Will you tell us about it?" Og asked.

"I guess so," Zelda said. "I remember that time clearly. If you're like me, you don't forget those rare occasions when you can leave the castle. But it was back when Impa took me into the Gerudo Fortress…"

* * *

"Impa, it's hot out here. Couldn't we go somewhere a little cooler?"

Zelda was sweating as a result of the heat bearing down on Gerudo Valley. When Impa left, it was only natural that she ask the seven-year old princess to come along. And Zelda gleefully agreed to go. Of course, she didn't know that the blazing sun would shine down so forcefully on that day.

"Now Zelda, you mean you didn't know that the desert sun would be out?" Impa asked, with a twinkle in her eye.

"No. I've never been here," Zelda answered. "And I already hate it. It's hot and it's boring."

"How can you say that?" Impa asked calmly. "We aren't even there yet. Besides, it'll get a little more exciting right about…now."

The horse stopped at the sight of a huge cliff. All Zelda saw was a giant banner that said 'Bridge Under Construction'.

"It's a dead end," Zelda observed.

"It only LOOKS like a dead end," Impa grinned. "But there's a way to get over there. Just hang on tight."

Zelda didn't ask any questions. She just gripped Impa's waist. Impa whipped the horse and the steed started going faster. Zelda noticed that were quickly approaching the cliff and it was too late to stop. The horse eventually reached the cliff and leapt off. Zelda just closed her eyes and screamed. When she sensed she wasn't falling hundreds of feet, she opened her eyes. She looked back to see that they were now on the other side of the cliff.

"Exciting, wasn't it?" Impa asked.

Zelda only nodded. It was a scary moment, but it was also quite an adrenaline rush. She had to admit that it WAS exciting. Suddenly, Impa stopped the horse. Zelda looked around to what seemed to be…buildings, but they looked different. They didn't look anything like the castle or any of the buildings back in Hyrule Castle Town.

"We're here," Impa announced. "The Gerudo Fortress."

* * *

Zelda sat down near the crates outside what appeared to be a place of business. Impa went up to two of the…inhabitants. They didn't look as weird as the Zoras, but they were different. Zelda also made another observation. They were all women. There were no men or boys anywhere.

"I need to talk to someone," Impa told one of the women. "It involves a request of the royal family."

The two women looked at each other before one of them pointed to the left. "You can find someone over there. I'm sure they'll be able to help you."

Impa nodded. "Thank you. But can I ask you two ladies for a favor?"

"What's that?" one of them asked.

"Please keep an eye on the princess," Impa answered, peering over at the young Zelda. "She can be quite a handful sometimes."

"We can do that," the other one said. "I trust you'll be back for her later?"

"Indeed I will. Thank you, ladies." Impa walked over and kneeled to look Zelda in the eye. "Zelda. I don't want this to be a repeat of our last few trips. Promise me you'll behave yourself."

"Ok, Impa."

Impa looked suspiciously at the little girl.

Zelda revealed her hands to show that her fingers were crossed. "How'd you know?"

"Never mind that," Impa said. "Now promise me you'll behave yourself."

"Ok, Impa. I promise."

"That's a good girl." Impa got up to leave, but quickly stopped to say one last thing to the two other women. "Don't let her out of your sight for a second." Having said that, she continued on her way.

* * *

Zelda sat bored. She didn't have a single opportunity to make her escape. Those two women, who called themselves 'Gerudo', were very skilled. They reacted with lightning speed every time it Zelda moved even an inch. So she just sat there and waited as they conducted their business as usual, even though it appeared there were no customers. But just then, another Gerudo walked up to them.

The first Gerudo stood attentively. "Welcome to the horseback archery range. Only 20 rupees."

The customer left a red rupee. Then she mounted one of the horses and began riding. What got Zelda's attention was that the Gerudo was riding and shooting arrows at the same time. It looked amazing. The Gerudo made a round trip and leaped off. As she left, Zelda applauded.

The second Gerudo looked at her. "That impress you, princess?"

"Oh yes!" Zelda said brightly. "I'd love to be able to try that."

The two Gerudo started laughing. "You? Doing that? I don't even think a little girl like you can even SHOOT an arrow, much less do that."

Zelda frowned. As they continued laughing, she pulled out the bow given to her by the Zora boy, Caraton. She aimed for a target high in the air, sitting on top of a pole. She let an arrow fly and nailed the bulls-eye with deadly precision. The two Gerudo stopped laughing.

"Did you see that?" the first Gerudo asked the other one.

"I can't believe it," the second one nodded. "A girl of that age, shooting with such accuracy? She's good enough to be one of us."

"That is, if she weren't the Princess of Hyrule," the first one pointed out.

Zelda cleared her throat. "So can I try it?"

"Well, I don't see why not," the first one answered. "I'm sure Impa won't mind. In fact, we'd probably be doing the young girl a favor."

The second one brought over a horse. "Come this way, Zelda."

The two Gerudo lifted Zelda onto the horse. Zelda tried hard to get a good grip on the reins. But that's when her foot slipped and struck the horse. The horse started running.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Zelda almost flew off, but she had a tight grip on the reins. Yes, it was true that she could shoot an arrow with the utmost precision. Of course, there was another problem. Zelda didn't know how to ride a horse. The good thing was, that it appeared the horse was trained to make its round trip. All Zelda had to do was just hold on for a few minutes. It was an agonizing trip. The wind was blowing extremely quickly and violently. Zelda felt like she was going to be thrown off. At one point, she was flying in mid-air. Only her tight grip on the reins kept her from completely being sent flying backwards. Then after an excruciating few minutes, the horse finally stopped. But of course, physics took effect. When the fast moving horse made its sudden stop, Zelda was sent flying forward. She proceeded to fall flat on her face. The two Gerudo ran up to the dazed little girl.

"Hmm…" the first Gerudo said in thought. "Maybe we shouldn't have just assumed that she knew how to ride a horse."

"Are you all right?" the second one asked Zelda.

Zelda was in pain, but she managed to get to her feet. "I'm ok. I'm just a little shaken. I always thought that riding a horse would be so easy. But I know I can do this. I want to try again."

"Try again?"

Zelda quickly turned around to see that Impa was standing right behind her.

"Zelda, you're lucky you weren't killed just now," Impa said sternly. "I forbid you to ride that horse again…"

"Aw, Impa."

"…Alone," Impa said. A smile crossed the Sheikah's face. "Of course, if I were at the reins, you could get a clear shot without getting yourself hurt."

"You mean it, Impa?"

Impa mounted the horse. "Of course I do. I've seen what you can do with that bow and I'm confident you can do something as simple as this."

The two Gerudo scoffed. "Simple? I think the child will be in for a big disappointment if she thinks this is easy."

"Don't listen to them, dear," Impa said. "You can do it."

Zelda mounted the horse and took out her bow. Impa gripped the reins with one hand and Zelda with the other. Impa then got the horse moving.

The first thing she noticed, was that the targets were at a much higher elevation and much farther away. Zelda also may have been a little handicapped, having Impa directly behind her, but she was still able to get off some good shots. While not with the same accuracy as before (after all, this was MOBILE target practice), Zelda did manage to get a fair number of bulls-eyes before finishing the first pass.

"You're doing great, dear," were Impa's words of encouragement.

Zelda continued firing until her quiver of twenty arrows was empty. Finally, the horse stopped and one of the two Gerudo women went to count the point total.

"How'd she do?" the first Gerudo asked.

The second Gerudo hesitated. "1500 points! A new record!"

"I've never seen anything like it," the first Gerudo said in response. "How did you get so good?"

"She's a natural," Impa answered for her. She looked down at the beaming princess. "I'm proud of you, Zelda." She smiled playfully. "Just don't you forget who the warrior's supposed to be around here."

Zelda giggled. Maybe she could shoot an arrow, but she would never be the warrior that Impa was. For one thing…she didn't even know how to ride a horse.

* * *

"Well, I guess we might as well throw in the towel," Kreature said.

"Apparently, a trio of fighting lizards can't shoot an arrow as good as a princess," Krash added.

"We can't even say we shoot like a girl," Og finished.

"Oh, come on guys," Zelda said. "If I were really so good, then I wouldn't need three scaly protectors like you guys. All I can do is shoot an arrow." She shifted into a grin. "Of course, who ever heard of fighting lizards who can't even shoot an arrow?"

"Hey, we can shoot," Krash said.

"Yeah," Og added. "Watch this." Og took out a bow and shot into the air. The arrow went completely out of sight.

**CRASH**

Zelda jumped at the loud crash of what sounded like lightning. The three Lizalfos, COMBAT, exchanged glances.

"Og…?" Kreature asked nervously. "Just which way did you aim that arrow?"

"Uh-uh," Og said, giving a 'don't-look-at-me' expression. "I didn't do it."

"Sounded like lightning to me," Krash observed.

"No, no," Kreature shook his head. "There can't be lightning right now. There isn't a cloud in the sky."

**CRASH**

"Tell that to the lightning," Og said.

Zelda started looking around to see any signs of clouds. There were none. It was strange to say the least.

"Hey Zelda!" Krash shouted. "Behind you!"

Zelda abruptly turned around to see that the wind was blowing fiercely to the place where she was standing. A bolt of lightning struck down on that place and the air started to part. It looked like a path to darkness had just opened up.

"What is that?" Kreature asked.

Zelda knew what it was. It was a portal. Then the wind started blowing more intensely and seemed to be trying to pull anything in. But the only thing affected by the portal's gravitational pull…was Zelda. Nothing else was affected, not even COMBAT. She fell and tried to grip the ground to keep from being sucked in. Kreature and Krash quickly gripped her arms.

Og took out his sword. "I'll get it." He ran to strike the portal, but was promptly given an electroshock. The chunky lizard went flying backwards.

Zelda then felt her grip slipping. Just then, her fingers slipped from Kreature and Krash and she went flying towards the portal. There was nothing that could save her. The last things Zelda saw were the faces of her three reptilian friends, before entering the darkness.

* * *

Kreature got to his feet. He immediately noticed the dazed Og to his left. Krash grabbed the groggy lizard and slapped him, hoping to get some reaction. Og shook off the cobwebs and promptly smacked Krash back.

"Well, it's good to see you're ok," Krash said, rubbing his head painfully.

"It was 'shocking' to say the least," responded Og with a pun. "What WAS that?"

"I don't know what it was," Kreature said. "But whatever it was, it took Zelda with it."

"Well what do we do now?" Krash asked.

Kreature shook his scaly head. "There's nothing we can do. All we can do is wait. And hope that the guards around here don't find a way to pin this on us."

"Then we'll just wait here," Krash said boldly.

Kreature only nodded. The three Lizalfos knights just sat down…and waited.

* * *

  
Part 3  


Knigma could see the whole thing go down. The bolts of lightning could clearly be heard from the dungeon. And the cold winds gave Knigma the sense that it all went perfectly. Of course, he waited until Drekkin stopped his chanting before opening his mouth again.

"You finished?"

"It is done," Drekkin said. "The princess has now been taken by the dimensional portal. And with two down, you know what's left."

Knigma nodded eagerly. "The farm girl…and Link, that little wretch in a dress."

"That's right," Drekkin said hypnotically. "I've been waiting for a moment like this. And when I get Link and his little friend into my dimensional portal, then it'll be time to initiate my next phase."

Knigma squealed ecstatically. "Can't wait. I've heard parallel dimensions are nice this time of year."

"Never mind that," Drekkin groaned. "We aren't leaving yet. Not before Link and Malon, anyway."

Drekkin continued his chants as Knigma eagerly waited. It would be such a shame if they were to interrupt a precious moment. Who knew? Link and Malon could be sharing a romantic moment, taking a day off, or even be in the outhouse for all he knew. Of course, Knigma didn't care if a precious moment were interrupted. After all, he had no remorse for Link or any of his friends.

* * *

As Link finally finished his work for the day at Lon Lon Ranch, he knew exactly where he wanted to go. He made his way to the corral to see that Malon was standing there brushing the mane of Epona, his horse. Of course, it was Malon's horse first, but Link won her in a race against the farmhand, Ingo.

Link was in love with Malon for a while now. Even before Princess Zelda confirmed it, he knew they were meant for each other. The fact that she retained all her memory from the Imprisonment War while everyone else forgot was probably a good clue. It was good news for Link. After the emotional night they spent together, he didn't want to have to go back to his own time if it meant that Malon would forget everything. But she didn't. And that meant Link had another seven years to spend with the farm girl. Seven years he didn't have because of his quest.

Link gave Malon a quick kiss. "What are you doing?"

Malon giggled. "Just brushing Epona. She could use it. I want to her to look beautiful for you."

Link gave the horse a cold stare. "Back-stabber."

Malon gave Link a nagging look. "Oh, Link, really. You can't tell me that after two months you haven't forgiven Epona. She doesn't know any better."

"I spent hours preparing that," Link said, referring to a candlelight dinner he had prepared for Malon before Epona managed to turn it into her personal meal. "How would she like it if I ate HER romantic dinner?"

Malon laughed out loud. "For one thing, Epona doesn't know the first thing about romance. She's a horse. And second, you wouldn't like eating what I give her."

"What do you give her?"

Malon pulled her right hand out from behind her back and stuck something in Link's mouth. "Hay."

Link spewed out the hay. "Ok, maybe I wouldn't like it."

Malon grabbed Link's hand and guided it to Epona's mane. "And think about it, Link. How many years have you known Epona?"

Link thought about that. "I don't know. A lot?"

"A lot?" Malon smiled. "Can't you give me a round number?"

"I have been back and forth through time," Link said, petting the horse. "I don't even know how many years I've known YOU."

Malon frowned. "Let's just leave that number at 'a lot'."

"I guess it has been a long time," Link said thoughtfully. "I remember when I first saw her."

Malon gave a warm smile. "She was so scared of you the first time."

"I know," Link remembered. "It took a while for her to get used to me…"

* * *

The ten-year old Link was in awe at the enormous sight. The last time he saw a place this big, was when he went to Hyrule Castle just a few days ago. Indeed, Lon Lon Ranch was a big place. As he walked in, he tried to remember why he was there. He didn't know what it was, but something had drawn him there. Maybe it was out of curiosity. Maybe it was just to visit. That's it. He was there to visit, before going off on his journey.

He walked slowly through the ranch, before he bumped into someone. He looked up to see a tall, mustached man. He was carrying a hayfork, so Link assumed that he was one of the farmhands.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm kind of lost," Link said. "Do you know where I can find Malon?"

"Ha! You want to see Malon?" the farmhand asked suspiciously. "Just who are you, anyway?"

"Who are YOU?" Link said, returning the question.

"I'm Ingo," he answered in a surly tone. "The hard-working farmhand. Now answer me. Who are you?!"

"L-Link," the young boy stuttered. "Excuse me, sir. But why are you in such a bad mood?"

"Bad mood?!" Ingo repeated, seemingly out of frustration. "Well, you'd be in a bad mood too if you hard to work hard like me! All I do is work! Work, work, work, that's all I do! And what does that lazy Talon do? Sleeps! He sleeps all day! He's so lazy! It should be ME running this ranch, not him!"

"Uh, ok," Link said. "Anyway, do you know where Malon is? I'm…her friend."

"Oh, I see," Ingo said, suspiciously stroking his mustache. "You're her 'friend'."

Link felt irritated. "No, I mean it! I'm her friend. JUST her friend."

"Sure you are," Ingo snickered. "She's in the corral with the horses. Just follow the singing voice."

Link bid the farmhand adieu and continued towards the corral. He looked back once more before walking into the corral.

_'Just follow the singing,'_ Link thought to himself. He looked at the center of the corral and found her. There was Malon, singing the same song she was singing the night he tried to break into Hyrule Castle. And with all the times he was getting kicked out, he had plenty of time to get used to the serene sound. The song even started growing on him after a while.

Link cleared his throat, getting the girl's attention. "Hi, remember me?"

The ten-year old Malon didn't seem to remember at first, but then she saw the fairy. "I remember you. You're the fairy boy."

Link felt a bit peeved. "I have a name, you know."

Malon giggled. "Oh yeah. Was it 'Link'?"

"That's me," Link said proudly. "You weren't kidding when you said this place was big."

"I know," Malon smiled. "It's big, but it's home."

Link saw that Malon was standing next to a young horse. "That your horse?"

Malon nodded. "Yes. Her name's Epona. She's my favorite horse. You can pet her if you'd like."

Link tried slowly moving his hand towards the horse's mane, but Epona quickly ran away to the other side of the corral.

"What's with her?" Link asked.

"Well, you ARE a stranger," Malon tried answering. "She just doesn't like strangers."

"Well, can't you tell her I'm not a stranger?" Link asked ignorantly.

"I can't just tell her," Malon responded. "She just doesn't get along with a lot of people."

"Well how do YOU do it? What makes her so attached to you?"

Malon didn't answer. She just started singing that same song again. Amazingly, Epona started walking towards her, as if the song had enchanted her.

"How'd you do that?" Link asked.

"Epona loves this song," the farm girl replied, as she stroked Epona's mane. "She'll just hear it and immediately recognize it. It's as if she knows it's my personal song."

"That's another thing I wanted to ask you," Link said. "What IS that song? I've heard it so many times from you, and it gets kind of catchy. Where'd you learn it?"

Malon hesitated, before breaking into another smile. "It's a special song. It was passed from my late mother…to me. This song has always been special to me and I really love it. Every time I sing it, I think of my mother. And since I sing it all the time, I guess Epona's gotten used to it."

"I think it's really good," commented Link.

"Maybe I can teach it to you," Malon responded. "Try this." Her melodic voice struck a high pitch, something like a 'La'.

Link tried duplicating the sound…with less than satisfactory results. He abruptly started coughing, for his voice had never reached such a high pitch. Singing wasn't his thing.

"O…k," Malon finally said. "Maybe singing isn't your niche. Isn't there any other way you can learn my song? Do you have some kind of instrument?"

Link's young face brightened. He did have ONE instrument. He took out his Faerie Ocarina, left to him by his childhood friend, Saria.

Malon marveled at the wooden instrument. "Wow! An ocarina. I've never seen one of those before."

"You really like it?" asked a brightened Link. "I haven't really used it that much."

"Relax, I'll teach you. Just hold it and try this."

Malon hit various pitches. It took many minutes of practice, but Link eventually hit the right notes and was starting to get the hang of the song. After a while, Link was ready to play the song in its entirety. As he was playing the whole song on his ocarina, he was interrupted by a friendly nuzzle. Link turned around to see that Epona had come back to him. And she was a lot more…attached to him than before.

Malon looked to be ecstatic. "Hey, fairy boy! I think Epona likes you!"

Link tried stepping back, but the little horse kept on following. It was true. Epona had become attached to Link. And it was all thanks to a new song he had learned. A song that, apparently, held a lot of influence.

"Well," Link stuttered. "I think I have to go now."

Malon giggled. "You'll come back, won't you?"

"S-Sure, whatever," Link muttered nervously. "Just call off your horse. Call her off!"

Link tried running. He ran circles around the corral, but Epona just kept running after him. Of course, the one thing that added to the ongoing embarrassment of this chase, was the echoing laughter of Malon. But of course, if he made her happy, it couldn't be too bad. Link only wished it didn't have to happen at the expense of his dignity. After all, he was supposed to be a hero in the making. And now he was trying to run away from an affectionate horse. 

* * *

"Well, she got used to you all right," Malon smiled.

Link continued stroking Epona's mane. "It took me forever to get her to stop chasing me. And your laughter didn't help."

"It was funny," Malon said. "I mean, just a few minutes before, Epona wouldn't even come near you. Then she was chasing you like there was no tomorrow. She loves you. If she didn't love you, then she wouldn't have remembered you when you came back after your seven year nap."

"And even after that was all over," Link continued. "We still had some times together. After all, you gave her to me when I came back after the Imprisonment War."

"Well, since everyone had forgotten about that, they didn't remember anything about a race for Epona," Malon reminded him. "But what kind of times did you have together? You hardly ever took her out in your first few years."

Link didn't say anything. He remembered the one time he almost lost Epona, when he was reliving his ten-year old days. Of course, he kept that a secret from Malon. She'd throttle him if she ever knew he almost lost her.

**CRASH**

Link and Malon looked around. At the sound of lightning, Link's first instinct was to look into the sky. But when he looked up, he saw there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was weird, to say the least.

"Where did THAT come from?" Malon asked.

"Maybe from somewhere else?" Link suggested. "The forest? The mountain? The domain?"

"Then it'd have to be a pretty loud crack of lightning if we could hear it all the way out here," Malon pointed out.

**CRASH**

"Well, I don't know where that came from…" Link began.

"Link, look!"

Link turned around to see the winds blowing towards the door of the corral. Then the bolts of lightning seemed to strike down on the doors, before the air seemed to split open. A giant hole seemed to be opening up in the air around the corral door. But Link recognized that it wasn't just a hole. It was a giant portal.

Then the vacuuming started. It seemed that the winds were being sucked into the portal. Then Link felt that he was being sucked into the portal, along with Malon. Malon clutched Link by his legs, while Link quickly took action. He pulled out his hookshot and tried to aim for one of the posts. He fired the hookshot and tried hanging on for dear life. The portal wasn't letting up and seemed to be growing stronger by the second.

But it wasn't any match. The gravitational pull and Link and Malon's weight were too much and the hookshot snapped. Link and Malon were sucked into the portal.

Link's last thoughts before he entered the portal were probably the obvious ones. What was this portal? How did it get to the ranch? And where was it taking them?

  


LONG intro. Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com.


	2. Part 2: The new world...same as the old ...

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 1/Intro  


It felt like an eternity. Traveling through portals was never a fun thing for Link, especially if he wasn't travelling alone. He didn't know where Malon was. He didn't even know if she had been thrown somewhere. He didn't how the portal just appeared in the ranch. It couldn't just be some random phenomenon. It couldn't be. But Link could do nothing now. He could only float around and wait…wait for whatever destination this portal intended to take him.

* * *

It should have been just a normal day. She thought it would be a normal day. But this was Link, everything about him and his life was anything BUT normal. Malon realized that, but she still loved him anyway. The only problem she had was with the occasional abnormalities that would take place. If it wasn't a shape-shifter, a weird light, or a Gerudo King trying to take over the world, then it was a weird portal that just appeared out of nowhere. Malon had no idea where the portal would take her. All she could do…was wait.

* * *

Just minutes before, Saria was hurting. She hurt emotionally. Her two friends, Somi and Mira, were unsure of the future of their friendship and for the first time in over a year, she questioned her decision to become the Forest Sage. But she wasn't thinking about that anymore. A more immediate concern had arisen.

Somehow she had been sucked into a portal, a portal she was sure was aiming for her. Somi and Mira weren't affected, so she knew it wanted to take her. But why? She couldn't understand that. Nor could she understand how a portal just appeared in the Forest Temple. It was nothing like the portals to the Sacred Realm. But for her questions to be answered, all she could do…was wait.

* * *

This day was going so normally for Zelda. She was just passing the time in the castle courtyard as she always did. But something different happened that day, and that something was a giant portal. Where the portal came from, Zelda had no idea. But she knew that somehow, it knew to go after her, otherwise Kreature, Krash, and Og would have been pulled in as well. She had many questions, like where was she going? But for those to be answered, all she could do…was wait.

  
Chapter 2  


Finally, Link saw a light at the end of the portal. Just then, he fell out and landed on his face. He painfully shook that off and got up, but immediately felt like his head was spinning. He saw that standing in front of him was Malon…and Saria…and Princess Zelda. How Zelda and Saria got there, he had no idea, but he had his suspicions.

Saria spoke first. "Link? Malon? Zelda? What are you guys doing here? Wherever…here is?"

Link looked around before Zelda spoke. "I got pulled in here by some giant portal. Where are we?"

"This place looks familiar," Malon observed.

Link looked to see that she was right. The giant field of grass to his right, the tall tree in front of him, and the tunnel to his left…he knew exactly where he was. "It's Hyrule Field."

Zelda smiled. "That's it? I thought this was dangerous, but instead this is just…inconvenient. Some portal. I thought this was bad."

"Yeah, this isn't bad for you," Saria said angrily. "But I was in the middle of something important before this stupid portal opened! Everyone's probably worried sick about me!"

"Well, the important thing is that we're fine," Link said calmly. "And that we know where we are. I guess as long as we're here, we might as well take you back to the temple."

"Do we really have to go that way?" Saria asked sadly, looking at the tunnel to Kokiri Forest. "I was kind of hoping to never have to see my village destroyed."

Link hung his head down. He knew exactly how she felt. He couldn't forget how hurt he was when he first saw the village in ashes and he only lived there his first ten years. Saria lived there practically her whole life. But as heartbroken as she might be, there was no other way around it.

"Well…" Link tried saying. "Try to be strong."

Link led everyone through the tunnel and crossed the bridge. Then a thought immediately struck Link. When the village was destroyed, the bridge was burned down. Yet, he was walking on a bridge in perfectly good condition. The only difference was that there was no sign of the Lost Woods under the bridge. It was just a giant hole, much like a canyon. But it wasn't until Link crossed the bridge and went through the tunnel, that he was completely overwhelmed.

The village…miraculously…was intact…but it was…different. There were still many trees that filled the forest, but there were also new features. Small rivers and streams flowed throughout the forest. He looked at everyone behind him, but what grabbed his attention was the look on the face of Saria. The look was indescribable.

"Oh…my…God," she slowly said. "Look!"

Link turned around and was dumbfounded at the sight in front of him. Coming out of each tree house were not Kokiri…but Zoras. At first Link thought the heat or the portal trip had him hallucinating, but he looked up to confirm that there WERE Zoras inhabiting the forest.

"W-Why are there…Zoras…in the forest?" Zelda asked.

Link couldn't say anything. When he last came to the forest, there was no village left. It had been burned to ashes. But now the forest was seemingly rebuilt, but there were…Zoras. Not Kokiri, but Zoras.

"Aren't Zoras supposed to be living in the Domain?" Malon asked.

Link still couldn't say anything. He was left speechless. Just then, one of the Zoras walked up to them. He was clad in a Kokiri tunic, which left Link even more bewildered. And he said something that would leave Link and everyone else completely baffled.

"I didn't realize we had visitors. Greetings and welcome to Zora Forest."

  
Chapter 3  


There was a long period of silence. Knigma could only wait, but after waiting a long while, he decided to break the silence.

"Well? Is it over?"

Drekkin chuckled. "It is done. Now it is time for us to go."

Knigma jumped up and down ecstatically. "Yes! It's about time. It's gotten so BORING in here!"

"Of course it will take another while to open another portal for each of us," Drekkin continued.

Knigma groaned. "Come on! How much longer do I have to wait? I want my revenge now!"

"Stop whining," Drekkin said. "We'll have our revenge soon enough. But first we need to know where we're going. Now think! Where are we most likely to find the mask shop owner, Yeddop?"

"The only place I know of," Knigma answered. "He'll be in Hyrule Castle Town."

"Then that is where we'll go," Drekkin said darkly. "When we get to the parallel Hyrule Castle Town, I shall steal the Mask of Majora from the mask shop owner, Yeddop. If he resists, I shall crush him! And once I have the mask, I shall unleash Armageddon on that universe. When the moon falls, our enemies will perish and I will return to this universe, to rule Hyrule forever!"

"And it sounds so easy too!" Knigma added.

Drekkin ignored that comment as continued his chanting. It was almost Independence Day for Knigma and Drekkin. And that would be a bad day for all.

* * *

Somi got to her feet. The dust had cleared and the portal was gone and with it, went Saria. She felt like crying at that moment. Her last few moments with Saria were spent questioning their friendship. She and Mira spent their last moments with Saria questioning the future, rather than cherishing the present. And now, Saria was gone.

"Hey!!"

Somi and Mira looked down to see that Mido was climbing the vines to where the two girls were standing. After the long climb, he fell to one knee and tried to catch his breath. Then he got up and quickly looked around.

"I heard everything," Mido said. "What happened?"

"Well…" Somi began.

"Somi, wasn't Saria with you?" Mido interrupted. "Where is she?"

"Mido, she's gone," Somi said, still shaken. "Some giant portal-thing opened up and it sucked her in. I don't know where she is."

That was all Mido needed to hear. "T-T-This is an emergency! Get the word out! We're having an emergency meeting!!" He quickly ran out the door that led into the dark well. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Somi shook her head. He must've fallen into the well. She looked at Mira and saw that she was shaken as well. "Well, I guess we better go down for the meeting. Mira, where do you think she is?"

"I'm not worried as much about where she is…" Mira said sadly. "As much as I am about whether she's even alive."

Somi cringed at that thought. She could only pray that Saria was alive and well.

  
Chapter 4  


Link reacted quickly to catch Saria, for she had fainted upon hearing the Zora's greeting. Link was extremely confused. This was Kokiri Forest. And not only were there Zoras walking around, but they were calling this place home.

"I'm sorry," Link said. "But I thought I heard you say this was Zora Forest. I'm being silly, right?"

"Oh, no," the Zora said. "This is Zora Forest. Of course, we can't blame you. Not many people have seen Zoras lately. It's because we like to distance ourselves from outside civilization."

"But I thought the Kokiri lived here," Malon tried saying.

The Zora burst out into hysterical laughter. "Wouldn't THAT be a kick. My, you are some funny people. Kokiri…living in the FOREST! HA! Next you'll be telling me that the Gorons live in the mountains."

Link honestly didn't know how to react. This was no joke. This Zora was serious about this place being home of the Zoras. But he couldn't understand this.

"What have we here? Visitors?"

Link turned to see that a female Zora was now standing in front of him. She wore a green tunic and shorts, much like the ones Saria has…but she looked oddly familiar.

"Why, Queen Ruto," the first Zora said in surprise. "You honor me with your presence. I was just greeting these four visitors."

Link couldn't believe it. This couldn't be Ruto, the Ruto that he knew. For one thing, the Ruto he knew was at the Water Temple, helping to keep the Sacred Realm seal intact. And she couldn't be the queen, unless something had happened to King Zora.

Zelda tried getting some answers. "I'm sorry, you said you were 'Queen Ruto'? As in Queen Ruto of…Zora Forest?"

"That's right," Ruto answered. "There's no other queen here. No one else has ruled Zora Forest except for me…since my father died."

"King Zora's dead?" Link asked.

"These four must be living under a rock," the male Zora said. "King Zora's been dead for many years."

This didn't make any sense. Last time Link heard, King Zora was alive and well. But now he was being told something a lot different. And since this was Ruto, she WOULDN'T be lying about something like this.

Ruto looked up at the setting sun. "It seems to be getting dark. You four don't have any place to stay, do you?"

"Well…"

"And you seem to be really tired," Ruto continued, looking down at the fainted Saria. "Why, you must have been traveling for days. This poor child must be tuckered out."

"It's true," Zelda said. "We have no place to go. We've just been wandering aimlessly for days."

"You poor people," Ruto said compassionately. "We simply MUST find some place for you to stay."

"Don't look at me," the male Zora said apathetically. "There's no room in my tree house."

"Well, fine then," Ruto huffed. "I'll keep them in my own home. I'll have them settled in before the meeting tonight." She looked at the four weary 'travelers'. "Come. I'll show you to my home."

Link picked up the unconscious Saria and followed Ruto to what looked like a familiar tree house. As they climbed the ladder, he tried thinking about where he had seen it before. Then it hit him. It was HIS house.

  
Chapter 5  


Link sat down on a wooden chair. He never noticed before how cramped his house was. Then he remembered. It wasn't his house; it was Ruto's house…which made absolutely no sense to him. How long did this portal knock him out? Was this some sick, twisted vision of the future?

"I'd love to stay and chat," Ruto said. She was standing by the door. "But there's an important meeting that I need to attend. Of course, as the queen, it's not like they can go on without me. Well, anyway, make yourselves at home." Then she left and climbed down the ladder. No one was in the house except for a confused Link, a bewildered Malon, a puzzled Zelda, and a still unconscious Saria.

"Does anybody want to tell me what just happened?" Malon asked nervously.

"I don't know what to tell you," Link said. "I'm as stumped as you are."

Just then, Saria moaned. She seemed to be coming to. She turned around and started muttering with her eyes still closed.

"Oh…Somi, I just had the weirdest dream. I dreamt that I was taken by a giant portal and I got dropped off in the village with Link, Malon, and Zelda. Except the village was full of Zoras and there weren't any Kokiri anywhere."

Link shook the delirious Forest Sage. "Saria, wake up."

Saria sat up and opened her eyes. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Link, Malon, and Zelda. "No! No! It's not a dream, is it? This is real! But it can't be!"

"Saria, calm down," Zelda tried saying. "If it makes you feel any better, I think I know where we are."

Link and Saria both turned to Zelda on those words.

"So…" Link said. "Where are we?"

"Think about it," Zelda began. "We were each taken into a giant portal and left somewhere else in our world. Or so we think."

"I…don't get it," Malon said.

"Don't you see," Zelda continued. "The Zora forest, the lack of Kokiri, King Zora's dead, Ruto's the queen…"

"Ruto's living in MY house," Link interrupted. "I know it's weird, but what does it mean?"

"It's weird because it's not our world," Zelda answered.

The three others had the same question. "What?"

"It's not our world," Zelda repeated. "Think about it. Saria, you know what I mean. What are portals primarily used for?"

Saria thought about it. "Going to the Sacred Realm?"

"Exactly," Zelda said. "Portals are used primarily used as gateways to other realms or dimensions. I think that the portal that sucked us in took us to another universe. One that's just like our world, but different."

"That sounds kind of far-fetched," Link said, scratching his head.

Malon cleared her throat. "Link, everything about your life is far-fetched to the average Hylian. After everything you've done, you mean to tell me you've never been to a parallel universe?"

Link thought about that. There WAS an instance. An instance no one ever knew about. It was a little less than a few days after he defeated Ganondorf and was returned to his childhood. When he saw Skullkid taking Epona, he followed him into a portal that led him into the land of Talmina. Recalling that, Link knew that a parallel universe wasn't out of the question.

"It IS the only way to explain how Zoras are living in my forest," Saria added.

"Ok, let's just say we ARE in some parallel universe," Link said. "How do we get back?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Zelda replied. "I just suggest we ride this out until we think of something."

"In that case, I need to get some sleep," Saria said.

"Sleep? You just woke up," Malon smiled.

"Yeah, but this IS a bit too much on the mind for me," Saria said sadly. "I need to get some rest and clear my head."

Malon thought about that. "You know, now that I think of it, sleep doesn't sound so bad right about now."

"I agree," Zelda said. "I should get some sleep before thinking of a way to get home."

Of course, they would get some sleep. But when faced with a situation like this, Link never slept. He did the only thing he could do. He walked out to get some fresh air.

  
Chapter 6  


Link walked out into the forest night to see that it was abandoned. None of the Zoras were out, but then he remembered Ruto talking about a meeting. Then he heard the commotion of many Zora voices, coming from what used to be the house of the Know-It-All brothers. Of course, whoever's house it was, Link had no idea. He walked over and immediately noticed that the house was a lot BIGGER than it used to be. It must have been remodeled to house the entire Zora population. Link walked in and saw that there were indeed hundreds of Zoras chattering amongst themselves. He then noticed Ruto. She was walking up to a large podium set up in front of the large crowd.

"Greetings to all the Zoras who showed up tonight," Ruto said, addressing the crowd. "I called this meeting to address an urgent matter. There have been rumors that the Hylian population will wage war against the Zoras if we refuse to choose a side in their own war."

"No way!" someone shouted out.

"It'll never happen!"

"If they don't like it, they can go cry to the Kokiri!"

Link was confused. Cry to the Kokiri? What did that mean?

"People, please," Ruto said, trying to restore order. "I know that there has been pressure placed on our people to choose a side. However, as much as we would all like to, the Zora people must not aid such a radical cause. We shall remain neutral. There need not be any bloodshed."

Someone behind Ruto then stepped forward. "I agree with Queen Ruto. There needn't be any bloodshed. Although the war is taking its toll, this is still a war between the Hylians. The Zoras should not be forced to pick sides and if they refuse to acknowledge our neutrality, then we'll take the matter to the Kokiri."

"Well, that's easy to say," someone else shouted out. "But they don't care about anyone but themselves!"

"Be that as it may, there is no need to incur the wrath of any of the Hylians," Ruto continued. "As a civilized people, it is time to take a vote. All of you will now step into the chambers on your left to cast a secret ballot. You will all vote on whether the Zora people will formally take a side in this ongoing war. Vote yes or no. The results will be tallied and be given at next week's meeting. As soon as you all vote, this meeting will adjourn."

All the Zoras walked to their left to reach the voting chambers. Link just stood at the door as confused as ever. This didn't sound right. There was a war involving the Hylians? The Kokiri were ruling? And from the sound of things, they weren't very popular rulers. This didn't make sense to Link at all. This stroll didn't clear Link's head as he had originally hoped. He just decided to walk back and get some sleep.

  
Chapter 7  


It didn't take long for the Kokiri to gather. Mido went around and quickly spread the word that there would be a meeting. Usually, meetings were dreaded. But this time, Somi knew that this was important. She and Mira stood by the courtyard door as the Kokiri each began gathering into the main entrance hall of the Forest Temple. Then suddenly, one Kokiri in particular came running up to Somi and Mira.

It was Sodo, and he was extremely panicked. "Somi! Mira! Where is she?! Where's Saria?! What happened to her?!"

Somi's heart sank. No one loved Saria as much as Sodo. And to hear that she disappeared must have scared him to death.

"Sodo, I don't know what's happened to her," Somi tried answering.

"She was pulled into a portal," Mira added. "And we don't know where she is. Or if she's even alive." Sodo nearly broke down on those words.

"MIRA!" Somi shouted. "Sodo, don't worry about it. I'm sure she's alive."

"You really think so?" Sodo asked, now sweating profusely.

"I'm sure Mido will think of something," Somi said. She honestly didn't know how much faith she had in her own words. But she did know that Mido cared for Saria as much as anyone. He would think of something.

Mido stepped up to the center of the main entrance hall. "Order…" he stopped. Mido noticed everyone was silent. That was a rarity for these Kokiri meetings. "Ok…from all the silence, I assume we all know why we're here."

The first one to speak out was Miso. "It's because Saria's disappeared…again."

"Shut up, Miso!" Rala shouted. "We know this is serious, because she didn't go off on her own this time."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Fala asked.

"Yeah. We know it wasn't her choice," Ralo, Fala's twin sister, added.

"That's what make this so serious," Domi added.

"QUIET!" Mido shouted. "It doesn't matter if Saria decided to leave or not. But for the record, this WASN'T her choice! She was sucked in to some portal!"

"So what else is new?" Miso asked. "She's always going into some portal."

"No, this one was different," Mira cried out. "It looked a lot…darker."

"It was surrounded by lightning and it had a powerful pull," Somi added. "But it didn't affect Mira or myself. It just pulled in Saria."

"Where did it happen?" Mido asked.

"Up above the courtyard," Mira answered. "Where we were earlier."

"Then I have an idea," Mido declared. "Maybe something up there triggered the portal to open. If we can repeat whatever happened up there, then maybe the portal will open and Saria will come back."

Dore scoffed. "No way! Jeez, Mido. Sometimes, I wonder what goes through your head."

"You have a better idea?" Mido asked dryly.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Dore said briskly. "If it was lightning that triggered that portal, then maybe lightning will open it again. So what better way to get lightning than to make it rain."

"Rain?" Mido asked. "What kind of bird-brained idea is that?"

"Better than anything you have!" Dore shot back.

"Oh yeah? We'll see who has the better idea!" Mido shouted.

"Just what are you proposing here, Mido?" Dore asked.

"You go your way, and I'll go mine," Mido clarified. "We'll both put our plans into action. And we'll see who brings Saria back."

"You're on!" Dore shouted, accepting the challenge. "Of course, I won't be able to do this alone." He gave a quick leer to his two brothers, Dila and Sofa. They got to their feet and stood behind Dore. "Anyone else?" He walked over to Domi. "Come on, Domi. You know you still owe me for those defective bows."

"I guess that's true," the stumpy shopkeeper conceded. He looked over at Rala. "Well? What do you say?"

"I guess it wouldn't kill me," Rala said. "I could use the rain. My hair's been a mess."

Seeing Dore's recruiting got Mido moving as well. He walked over to Miso. "You'll help me, won't you?"

Miso paused. "Well…"

"WON'T YOU?!" Mido asked a bit more forcefully, holding his fist up.

"I guess I can't argue with that," Miso said.

After recruiting Miso, Mido walked over to the twins, Fala and Ralo. "And how about you two? You won't leave me and Miso to do this ourselves, will you?"

"I…guess not," Fala said slowly.

"Couldn't hurt," Ralo added.

"Good," Mido grinned. His grin faded as he glared at Dore. "We'll see who can bring Saria back."

Dore scoffed again. "Won't be you. And if I were you, I'd get your umbrella. Because you're about to experience some showers."

With those prophetic words, Dore walked away with Dila, Sofa, Rala, and Domi. Mido then walked the opposite direction with Miso, Fala, and Ralo. Somi was now left alone with Mira and Sodo.

"Do you think they can actually reopen the portal?" Mira asked.

"I don't know," was Somi's only answer. "Their plans seem a bit…irrational. I don't know if the portal CAN be reopened."

"But there has to be a way," Sodo said. "She can't just be…gone."

Somi didn't want to face that possibility. But this portal appeared out of nowhere. It may be impossible to reopen it. And if it is, then Saria might be gone forever.

  
Chapter 8  


As the morning sun rose, Link was already out of his…er…Ruto's house. All he was waiting for was for everyone else to wake up. Finally, someone came out. It was Malon.

"So, are we ready to go…wherever it is we're going?" she asked.

Link nodded. The night before, an idea hit him. In his universe, the wisest person in Hyrule was probably Princess Zelda, the heir apparent of Hyrule. If this universe wasn't any different, then whoever was in charge hopefully held some more wisdom. And from hearing the Zoras, it was apparently the Kokiri. Hopefully, they might have some answers and offer a way to get home. Granted, it wasn't the brightest of Link's ideas, but it would have to suffice until something clearer arises.

Of course, Link didn't make any mention of the meeting last night. After everything that they had been bombarded with, he could only imagine the shock that would overcome Saria and Zelda by hearing that Kokiri were ruling Hyrule. He figured it best to keep that a secret. Just then, Saria and Zelda both walked out.

"Well, Hero of Time," Zelda said dryly. "Any ideas?"

"I figure this would be a good time to go to the castle," Link suggested. "Maybe we can get some idea of how to get home there."

"What makes you think that?" Zelda asked.

"…Ok, maybe it's not my best plan," Link admitted. "But it's the best one I have! And we might think of something better while we're there."

"Wait!"

Link turned to see that Ruto was walking towards them.

"I know that you all have been traveling for days, so I just want to say goodbye and wish you all luck," Ruto said.

Link smiled warmly at the heartfelt goodbye. "Thank you, Ruto."

Ruto continued. "Just one thing…I never learned your names."

Link cleared his throat. "Well, my name is…ack!"

Zelda quickly pulled him over by the tunic. She grinned sheepishly at Ruto. "Excuse us." She pulled Link over to a remote area behind the tree house. Malon and Saria followed.

"You almost choked me!" Link uttered.

"Never mind that," Zelda said. "If this is a parallel universe, then there have to be parallel versions of us here, too. So as to not cause any confusion among the locals, I suggest we make up some names and travel incognito."

She made sense. "I guess I can do that," Link said.

"Good," Zelda grinned. The four of them walked back to Ruto.

"Just having a discussion I see…I'm sorry, I still don't know your names," Ruto said.

"Oh, we're sorry," Zelda said. "My name's…Selma."

Saria introduced herself next. "My name's…Sally."

Malon went next. "My name's…Mary."

Link couldn't think of anything. "My name's…uh…Liam."

"Selma, Sally, Mary, and Liam," Ruto repeated. "I'll be sure to remember you all. I wish you the best of luck."

Zelda smiled. "Thank you, Queen Ruto."

"Maybe we'll meet again someday," Ruto said. "But until then, farewell."

_"Not if I can help it,"_ Link thought. He wanted to get home, and hopefully he might find some answers at the castle.

  
Chapter 9  


Link was feeling tired. They didn't have a horse to travel on, so they were forced to travel on foot. It was the price they had to pay for traveling through a mysterious portal. He looked back at the tunnel to 'Zora Forest' and then he looked ahead to Hyrule Castle. He could only wonder who inhabited it, though. Honestly, the curiosity was getting to him. He could only imagine what royal Kokiri would look like.

"Link," Malon called out suddenly. "Do you hear something?"

Link stuck his ear out to hear the sound of horses. And the horses seemed to be coming closer.

"Link, over there!" Zelda shouted out.

Link turned to his left to see that a band of raiders were approaching them. He couldn't make out what the raiders looked like, until they actually arrived. When Link got a good look, he couldn't believe his eyes. They were…Gorons. But these weren't the happy-go-lucky creatures from his world. They looked different.

The horses stopped and two Gorons leapt off. They held spears and pointed them at Link and his friends.

"Freeze! Don't any of you move!" one of them shouted.

"And give us all your valuables!" the other one demanded.

"We don't have any valuables," Link tried saying.

"Ha! You're LYING!" the first one shouted.

"That means a cavity search for YOU!" the other one said.

The Gorons advanced on Link. His panicked shouts were drowned out as the Gorons moved in and stripped his pockets. When the dust cleared, Link was left without his sword, his quiver, and his shirt.

The first Goron tossed the shirt back to Link. "Put this Zora shirt back on! It's useless to us!"

"I guess he tells the truth," the other one said. "They have no valuables, except this sword and quiver. What do we do with them?"

"I'll tell you what we do with them!"

Link looked forward to see that someone was stepping forward. He was much bigger than the other Gorons and looked extremely familiar. Then suddenly, Link recognized him. It was Darunia.

"If they have no valuables, then they become our prisoners!"

  


Comments? Mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com


	3. Part 3: Goron Raiders? Kokiri WHAT?

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 10  


Link only stood breathing heavily while, as crazy as it sounded, Darunia and his Goron band of raiders were ready to take him, Zelda, Saria, and Malon prisoner. As if it weren't enough to see that Zoras now inhabited the forest, but now Link was discovering that Gorons were now thieves.

"Get ready to tie them up," Darunia said fiercely. "And don't have any mercy on them."

"Darunia, this can't be you," Link tried saying. "You're my friend."

Darunia and the Gorons burst out into hysterical laughter.

"F-Friend?" Darunia mocked. "I am the mighty Darunia, big brother of the Goron thieves. I am NO ONE'S friend!"

"Big brother of thieves?" Link repeated.

"SILENCE!" Darunia shouted. "Gorons, advance on them!"

Link didn't want to have to hurt any of the Gorons, but then he remembered they weren't the same Gorons. They had bad intentions, so Link took action. Without a sword, Link could only punch and kick through the Goron crowd, but he was brutally outnumbered. The Gorons soon overwhelmed Link, but it was Darunia who delivered the final blow. With his large wooden club, he struck Link over the head, knocking the Hero of Time unconscious.

* * *

The chanting stopped…it was finally time…but there weren't as many sound effects as the previous portals Drekkin had made, and in a way, that disappointed Knigma.

"Where's all the lightning? Where's all the 'whoosh'?" he asked.

"We can't attract any attention," Drekkin answered.

"What attention? The guards are all in the castle attending to a 'missing' Princess," Knigma pointed out.

"But after all that, I still don't want to take any chances," Drekkin responded. "Besides, I prefer walking into my portals, rather than being pulled in."

Just as Drekkin said that, a giant portal seemingly opened inside his stone cell. The winds could now clearly be heard.

"Hey! Where's mine?!" Knigma demanded.

"Oh, be patient," Drekkin said monotonously. "It's right there."

Knigma turned around and saw the portal. It was big and seemingly led nowhere, making Knigma a bit edgy.

"Hey, Drekkin? Are you sure this is safe? This looks a bit danger…AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Knigma was cut off, as the gravitational pull of the portal sucked him in.

  
Chapter 11  


After what felt like an eternity, Knigma saw a light at the end of the portal. It seemed like he reached the exit. He quickly fell out and landed on his face. He pulled his face out of the mud and looked up to see a waiting Drekkin.

"What took you so long?" the wizard grinned.

"I thought you said we could just walk in," Knigma said angrily.

"No, I said I could just walk in," Drekkin responded. "You get pulled in like everyone else." The sorcerer looked around, observing his surroundings. "Where are we?"

Knigma recognized where he was. "Come on, Drekkin. Don't you recognize this place? Maybe this will clear your head a little better." He pointed to his right to a huge, familiar structure. It was Hyrule Castle.

"We're inside the gate?" Drekkin noted. "We're not supposed to be INSIDE the gate. We have to find the mask shop owner. Now let's get out of here."

Knigma nodded and started walking out, but suddenly felt an unseen grip grab his arms. Knigma then felt his arms be forcefully thrust behind his back. Then he saw a floating rope, which was used to tie him up.

"Drekkin…this isn't the time to be using your cool magic," Knigma said, obviously annoyed.

"It's not me," the sorcerer replied.

As Knigma looked at Drekkin, he noticed that the sorcerer was also being tied up. This clearly wasn't the work of Drekkin.

"This…isn't you…is it?" Knigma asked, noting the obvious.

Both Knigma and Drekkin were now on the ground, both of them tied up. Then something astounding happened. In front of them, appeared what looked like three children…out of nowhere. They wore black cloaks and looked to be clad in the uniforms of Hyrule's soldiers. But they weren't Hylians. They were Kokiri.

One of them stepped forward. "HA! It looks like we got another two losers. You're under arrest!"

"For what?" Knigma demanded.

"Trespassing," he clarified. "You are trespassing on our property. And from the looks of you two, you might be spies plotting against the royal Kokiri nobles."

Knigma thought he was delirious. "I'm sorry, did you say royal Kokiri nobles?"

"Did I stutter?" the Kokiri boy asked coldly.

Knigma smiled calmly. "Oh, I see. It's all so clear to me now. I'm DREAMING. I'm not really tied up. There aren't really any invisible Kokiri or Kokiri nobles. This is all a bad dream. Hey, squirt, do me a favor and bash me over the head, maybe it'll wake me up."

"SQUIRT?!" the boy said angrily. "How DARE you talk to a Kokiri that way!" He took his spear and clubbed Knigma over the head with it.

"OW!!" the former editor cried out. "I'm still not awake! Hit me harder!"

"ENOUGH!" the Kokiri boy shouted. "Dila, Sofa, take these two to the dungeon. I'll interrogate them later."

"No! Not the dungeon AGAIN!" Knigma cried out in vain. "Somebody get my lawyer!"

"You'll be crying for your mommy if you don't SHUT UP!!" the boy shouted.

While Knigma continued to whine about this recent development, he noticed that Drekkin was suspiciously quiet. Either the wizard had a plan, or he planned to ride this out until he got some answers. Knigma hoped there was a plan. He didn't just travel through dimensions just to get locked up in a parallel dungeon.

  
Chapter 12  


"Well, this is where it happened."

Mido looked around to see if Miso, Fala, and Ralo had finished climbing up the vines on the courtyard wall. Once they were up the vines and on the high platform where the portal had appeared, Mido walked over to the door.

"This is where the portal that took Saria appeared," Mido said. "Now all that's left is to find out what triggered that portal."

"It could be anything though," Miso pointed out. "This could take us forever."

"Then I suggest you get started," Mido growled.

The four Kokiri began looking for anything that might have created lightning or triggered a portal. After several minutes of pulling vines, stomping the ground, and tapping the walls, an observation was made.

"Mido?" Ralo asked. "Wouldn't it just be easier to ask Somi and Mira what they were doing when this happened?"

"It beats pounding things without a single clue of what we're doing," Fala added.

"I thought about that too," Mido admitted. "But this had to be traumatizing for them. The last thing they need right now is to be asked to relive that moment. For now, we have to try to find the cause ourselves. Let's give Somi and Mira some time to recover from this."

Several more minutes passed, and nothing was found. The other three Kokiri began getting frustrated.

"Mido! There's nothing here!" Miso whined. "Can't we give up now?"

"We haven't even been out here an hour!" Mido shot back. "Just keep looking! There has to be something out here!"

"Maybe Dore's having better luck," Fala muttered.

"I heard that!" Mido shouted. "Dore's plan is just a bunch of mumbo jumbo. I bet you he's got even less than us."

"But what's less than nothing?" Miso asked ignorantly.

Mido didn't say anything. He just slapped Miso behind the head and continued searching. He knew that in the end, Mido would get better results than any nonsense Dore came up with. If not, he'd eat his hat.

* * *

It was a sunny day outside the Forest Temple. That's exactly what Dore DIDN'T want. He knew that to get a portal, he needed lightning. So that's why he gathered Domi, Rala, and his brothers outside.

"Well, this is the place," Dore announced.

"The place for what?" Sofa asked.

"It's the perfect place to get rain," Dore clarified. "And when we get rain, we'll get lightning."

"But how do we get rain?" Rala asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Dore said proudly. "Legend has it that ancient peoples used a special rain dance to make it rain. So if it worked for the ancient people, it'll work for us."

"So how do we do this?" Dila asked.

Dore thought about that. "Domi, do you have those guay feathers I asked for?"

Domi handed Dore a giant feather. "This is the biggest one I could find."

"Good enough," Dore grinned. "Rala, do you have your makeup?"

Rala handed Dore her makeup pen. "It's right there. A perfect shade of red."

"A feather and makeup," Dila scoffed. "Who are you going to find to wear those?"

Dore didn't say anything. He just slowly walked towards Dila with a growing, mischievous grin on his face. He slowly held up the feather and the makeup pen as he cornered the nervous Dila.

"D-D-Dore?" Dila asked nervously. "What are you going to do with those? No! Ow! Stop! Help! Dore!"

"Stand still!"

"No! Stop! Dore, get off of me!"

Dore backed off from Dila, having finished his work. "There. You look perfect, bro."

Dore stepped back to reveal that Dila now had the guay feather stuck to his hat. His face was painted with Rala's makeup, in the design of some tribal war paint.

Sofa started laughing hysterically. "Looking good, Dila."

Rala covered her face. "Ugh. My best makeup wasted on…Dila."

Domi smiled at her. "Well, you still look pretty, even without the makeup." That left Rala beaming.

Dore cleared his throat. "Of course, I figured it would be best if we had someone who looked the part of the ancient people."

"But why me?" Dila whined.

"Consider it a penalty for losing the weapons!" Dore snapped. He quickly calmed down. "Anyway, Dila will now proceed to dance around this stack of Deku sticks, which I will now light on fire. Sofa?"

Sofa lit up a Deku stick and handed it to Dore. Dore dropped the stick near the stack of Deku sticks already on the ground, immediately igniting them.

He glared at Dila. "Now DANCE!"

Dila wasted no time in circling the fire. His rain dance was very…awkward. Especially, since Dila didn't even know how to do a rain dance. He continued circling the burning Deku sticks for several minutes. Dore looked to the sky to see that there were still no rain clouds.

"C-C-Can I stop now?" Dila pleaded.

"NO!" Dore shouted. "You keep dancing until we get some rain."

There were still no clouds in the sky. But Dore would get rain, even if it killed Dila. He desperately wanted rain, for through rain there would be lightning. And through lightning there would be another portal. And through the portal, Saria would come back and that was what they were ultimately shooting for.

  
Chapter 13  


"Link! Wake up!"

Link opened his eyes to see that Malon was desperately trying to wake him up. He looked around him to see that they were tied up and being taken prisoner by the Goron raiders. Goron raiders. That still didn't make sense to Link, especially seeing Darunia as their leader.

"Where are we?" Link asked.

"Look over there," Malon replied.

Link looked forward to see a familiar place. The waterfall was a lot smaller and it no longer covered the entrance, but it basically led to the same place. It was the entrance to Zora's Domain.

* * *

It was indeed Zora's Domain.

Link knew that from looking at all the shallow pools of water that they were inside the home of the Zoras. But it wasn't their home. It was now home to the Gorons.

He could see it all clearly from behind the bars of their cell, where he, Malon, Saria, and Zelda were now being held prisoner. Link could have escaped, but the Gorons still had his sword and his quiver of arrows. But for now, they were all stuck.

Suddenly, Darunia walked up to the cell. He looked at the Goron guard to his left. "What do you think? You think they'll pay me handsomely to get them back?"

The Goron shook his head. "Uh, uh. Those brats don't care about anything but themselves."

"What about the Hylians?" Darunia asked. "You think THEY'LL pay me a heavy ransom?"

The Goron shook his head again. "I doubt it. They have their own problems, what with the civil war and everything."

"Then why did we take these four prisoner in the first place?" Darunia demanded. "They're useless to us!"

Malon saw an opening. "Well, if we're useless, then I guess there's no use in keeping us here."

"Yeah," Saria added. "I guess you'll just have to let us go."

"Oh, no!" Darunia shouted. "Don't try to be clever! You're not going anywhere. Prisoners are never completely useless. You four will serve as good target practice when we KILL YOU."

"Oh, boy," the Goron guard said eagerly. "Target practice."

Darunia turned to the Goron. "I'll come back for these four later. Just keep an eye on them and make sure they don't try anything sneaky." With those words, he walked away.

With the room empty, Zelda broke the silence. "So let's recap what we've seen so far. We've seen a forest full of Zoras, Ruto's a queen living in the forest, and now the Gorons are THIEVES? This world just keeps getting stranger."

"Now what do we do?" Saria asked.

"We wait," Link answered. "We'll get out of here. Somehow…"

  
Chapter 14  


Knigma couldn't believe it. It had happened again. He was back in the same old cell. The only difference was that this was a different universe and that Drekkin now shared the cell with him, rather than from a stone cell.

"You want to explain to me what just happened out there?" Knigma asked, referring to the altercation with the Kokiri.

"It's just like I said," Drekkin tried answering. "Differences vary in a parallel universe. In this case, we have complete opposites."

"Opposites?"

"Don't you see?" Drekkin continued. "Back in our world, Kokiri are hated and looked down on. They're at the bottom of our social structure. But this place is just the opposite. Apparently, in this universe, Kokiri rule supreme and rule all of Hyrule."

"You mean this whole land is run by…Kokiri?" Knigma asked. "That…makes me SICK!"

"I told you," Drekkin said. "These parallel dimensions are different."

"Ok, I can understand that," Knigma acknowledged. "But can you tell me how they did that little invisibility trick?"

"Well, I don't know ALL the answers!" Drekkin snapped. "I have no idea how they're able to do that! But it DOES explain how they've been able to maintain power."

"So what's the plan now?" Knigma asked. "Do we get out of here?"

"That would be the obvious choice," Drekkin answered. "But I prefer to get some answers first."

"From who?" Knigma asked.

Silence. The dungeon immediately grew quiet as the door to the dungeon opened. The same Kokiri boy who arrested them walked in. He stopped at Drekkin and Knigma's cell and stared coldly at both of them.

"Who are you?" Drekkin demanded.

"QUIET!" the boy snapped. "I'll ask the questions around here. But if you must know, I am the head of the Kokiri army. I am the one called General Dore."

"Enough small talk," Knigma interrupted. "I demand you let us go!"

Dore pulled out a baton and whipped Knigma's hand with it.

"OW!" Knigma cried. "That really stings you know."

"SILENCE!" Dore growled. "You're in no position to demand anything! Now you two have been arrested for trespassing, but I have my suspicions. I know that Hylians can't be trusted. They have proved to be a menace since the war happened. And I know you two spies are out here for more sinister purposes."

"What do you mean?" Drekkin asked.

"You're here to free HIM aren't you?" Dore demanded.

"Him?" Knigma repeated. "Him who?"

"Don't play dumb!" Dore snapped. "You know who HE is! And you two are here to free HIM and unleash his wrath on our world once more."

"I…think there's been a misunderstanding," Drekkin tried saying. "We were just trying to find a friend around here."

"Oh, yeah. I bet you were trying to find a friend," Dore said sarcastically. "And that friend was HIM! You don't fool me for a second!"

"Who is HIM?" Knigma asked again.

"QUIET!" Dore shouted. "I've had enough of your insults and insolence! If you won't talk then you'll be executed at dawn! Until then, I suggest you two get your stories straight and confess! I'll be back for you two tomorrow morning. If you don't confess, then you DIE!"

With that, General Dore walked out in a huff. Knigma didn't know what to make of that interrogation.

"Well that was useless!" Knigma said angrily.

"I agree," Drekkin admitted. "I didn't get the answers I hoped for. I believe it is time we make our exit."

"Good. I've had enough dungeons to last me a lifetime," Knigma said bitterly.

"Of course it will take me a while to create a portal out of here," Drekkin added.

Knigma groaned. "In all the years you've been a sorcerer, haven't you learned a faster way to create portals?"

"Oh, shut up!" Drekkin growled. "Or else I'll leave you here with our good friend, General Dore."

Knigma stood silent as Drekkin began his chanting. All Knigma could think about was how confusing this world was. And if the Kokiri were ruling Hyrule, what other drastic changes filled this world? And where in this world would they find the mask shop owner, Yeddop?

  
Chapter 15  


Link noted that the Goron guard was now asleep. Sleep didn't sound like such a bad idea, but now wasn't the time. They had to escape.

"See any exits?" Link asked everyone.

They all shook their heads. Link just continued looking, until Zelda walked up and pulled Link's tunic.

"Link! Down there!"

Link looked to see where Zelda was pointing and then he saw it. Their one chance at escape. It was the shortcut to Lake Hylia. Now all Link needed was a way to open the cell and get his sword and quiver. He could see it in the next chamber, lying next to the cave opening. But with a sleeping Goron, it would be impossible to escape. Yet, this may also be their best chance. Suddenly, Zelda pulled on Link's tunic again, getting his attention.

A bright expression filled the princess's face. "I have an idea."

  


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com.


	4. Part 4: Civil War in Lake Hylia

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 16  


Sitting in the cell, waiting for the Goron guard to fall asleep, gave Zelda time to think. Not just to think of this whole situation, but to think of a means of escape. Then it hit her. It hadn't hit Link yet.

"Well, what do you have in mind?" he asked.

Zelda reached into her dress to pull out something she nearly forgot she had. She pulled out Kreature's bow, which she forgot to hand back after picking off that apple. She looked into the chamber that she saw Darunia walk into. And she noticed she only had ONE arrow.

"Just sit back and watch," Zelda answered. She aimed for a large vase in Darunia's chamber. She took her time…aimed…and fired. The arrow sailed accurately into the chamber and shattered the vase. She thought to herself, _'Ha! I still got it!'_

The Goron woke up, moving around nervously. "What was that?"

Zelda made her move. "It came from Darunia's chamber. It sounds like you got company."

"Company?" the Goron repeated. "That's bad. I have to save big brother." The Goron ran away from the cell and into Darunia's chamber, leaving the key above where he was sitting.

This was Zelda's chance. She concentrated hard and telepathically moved the key into her hand. She grabbed the key and unlocked the cell. They were all free.

She turned to the astounded Link. "Hurry up and get your things. We'll meet you on the other side."

Link ran to the left while Zelda led Malon and Saria towards the Lake Hylia shortcut. She waved them into the water and watched as they dove in and swam towards the shortcut. Before diving in, Zelda looked back. Link was out of sight now. Seeing that he wasn't coming, she dove into the water and swam towards the Lake Hylia shortcut.

As Zelda approached the shortcut, she wondered what if Link would be able to get out safely. She could only swim to the other side and hope that nothing happened.

When Zelda reached the other side of the Lake Hylia shortcut, she got out of the lake and saw that Malon and Saria had arrived safely. But the looks on their faces told a completely different story. They wore faces of complete shock.

"What's with you two?" Zelda asked as she dried herself off.

Malon and Saria didn't say anything. They only pointed behind Zelda. Zelda turned around and her jaw nearly dropped open in shock.

"Oh…my…God…"

  
Chapter 17  


He had to give credit to Zelda. Her plan worked to perfection. She provided the perfect distraction while they were all able to escape. And Link never knew that she could shoot an arrow with such precision.

Link knew that he had to act fast, so he quickly ran into the chamber and grabbed his sword and quiver.

"Going somewhere, boy?"

Link turned around to see that Darunia was standing right in front of him, wielding a giant sword and pointing it at Link. He was also backed up by dozens of Goron thieves.

Link took out his own sword. "I'm leaving, Darunia. And you're not stopping me."

"You're not going anywhere," Darunia shot back. "At least not without fighting me first."

"You AND your band of thieves?" Link pointed out.

Darunia looked back at his backup. "Gorons, step back. I can take care of this scum myself." The Gorons stepped away from their leader. Darunia shot a glance at Link. "Well, boy, it's your move."

Link hesitated at first. Darunia was his friend and under any other circumstances, he wouldn't even be thinking about fighting him. But again, he remembered that this wasn't the same Darunia. This was a darker version of the King of the Gorons, one who meant Link harm.

Link struck first, thrusting his sword forward, but Darunia blocked with his own sword and pushed back Link with unbelievable power and strength. Link took a second to rethink his strategy. Darunia was obviously way too big to attack directly. Link reached into his quiver, but found a grim discovery. His quiver was empty.

"Looking for these?" Darunia asked. He held in his hand a pile of Link's arrows. And among those, included his fire, ice, and light arrows. Darunia put his sword away and used his free hand to hold a fire arrow. "Hmm, I wonder what THIS does?"

He tossed the fire arrow in Link's direction, and he was barely able to leap out of the way before it ignited the ground he was standing on.

"Ooh, that packs some punch," Darunia said, with a sinister grin. He held an ice arrow in his hand now. "Now what does THIS do?"

He threw the ice arrow at Link. Again, he managed to dodge the arrow. The ice arrow landed and froze the ground he was standing on. Suddenly, Darunia's experimenting gave Link an idea. He ran over in front of where the Gorons were standing, hoping Darunia wouldn't hesitate to throw an arrow in that direction. Then, just as Link expected, Darunia now held a light arrow.

"Hmm, fire and ice, but whatever does THIS do?" He threw the light arrow and Link jumped out of the way. The light arrow hit the ground and a bright light flashed in front of the Gorons. The rock- eaters were suddenly panicked by the blinding light.

Darunia saw what had happened and grew panicked himself. "My army! What's happening? What kind of arrow IS that?"

That split-second of distraction was all Link needed. In the blink of an eye, he ran and kicked Darunia back. He stumbled backwards and dropped the arrows. As Darunia staggered, Link picked up an ice arrow and shot it towards him, leaving the big brother of thieves frozen in his tracks.

With Darunia frozen and the Gorons momentarily blinded, Link picked up his arrows and raced towards the Lake Hylia shortcut. He dove in and quickly swam towards the shortcut. A few seconds later, The Zora's…er…Goron's Domain was now behind him and Link resurfaced in Lake Hylia.

Link surfaced from the water and was more than happy to see the friendly faces of Zelda, Malon, and Saria. But their faces weren't faces of joy. They looked completely stunned.

"Good to see you too," Link said, trying to get a rise out of them. But it was to no avail. They still wore expressions of shock. "What's wrong? What is it?"

The girls didn't say anything. They only pointed behind Link. Link turned around to see a sight that completely overwhelmed him. He couldn't believe what he was now seeing.

"Oh…my…God…"

  
Chapter 18  


The noise could be heard from both sides of the Forest Temple. The shouts of frustration from Mido and the angered shouting of Dore were both clearly audible from the main entrance hall where Somi was standing.

Both Mido and Dore didn't seem to be getting anywhere in their efforts to reopen the portal and bring Saria back. Somi, Mira, and Sodo could only stand as Mido and Dore tried in vain to open the portal.

"Do you think they'll ever get it open?" Mira asked.

"It's not looking like it," Somi answered. "I can't believe this, Mira. All she wanted was to spend the day with us. She just wanted it to be us three like it used to be. She wanted to renew our friendship and we couldn't accept that because we kept thinking something bad would happen and she'd leave us again."

"I know. I feel terrible," Mira said sadly. "I only wish she were here. Saria's our friend. I don't want our last memory of her to be of us questioning our friendship."

"But I think we have to face it," Somi said, her voice cracking. "She's gone and we may never see her again."

"Don't say that!" Sodo snapped. "She's out there and she's alive. I can feel it. And we'll get her back."

"How?" Somi asked, tears still streaming down her face. "Mido and Dore's plans don't make any sense. Who are we kidding? We're just normal Kokiri. We can't open portals. We aren't sages like Saria."

Sodo's face suddenly brightened. "No…but what if we could get a sage?"

"What do you mean?" Mira asked.

"WE can't open portals, but the sages can," Sodo clarified. "We just have to get one of them to help us."

"But how do we call a sage?" Somi pointed out.

"I think I know," Sodo answered. "Come with me."

Somi and Mira followed Sodo into the elevator that led into the Forest Temple's basement. She could only wonder what Sodo had in mind. When they reached the basement, Sodo led the two girls to a giant door and went inside.

Somi looked around in the room full of paintings. Saria told her about this place. She said it was the place where Link fought the Phantom Ganondorf. But what did this place have to do with calling a sage?

"Well, now what?" Somi asked.

"I remember Saria said she had some medallions here in case of emergency," Sodo answered. "Help me look for them."

Somi, Mira, and Sodo each split up to search opposite sides of the room. This could be a long search, and like the efforts of Mido and Dore, could all end in vain.

* * *

"Come on! Aren't you done yet?"

Drekkin ignored the whining of his associate, Knigma, and continued his efforts to create an exit. But just then, he stopped chanting. A portal then opened up in front of them.

"Well, it's about time," Knigma growled. "Jeez, in all the years that wizardry's been around, you'd THINK they could come up with a faster way to open a portal."

Drekkin didn't say anything. He just grabbed Knigma by the ear and painfully dragged him into the portal. Soon they would be in Hyrule Castle Town and the search for the mask shop owner, Yeddop, would begin.

* * *

Finally, after what felt like another eternity, Knigma fell out of the portal and fell on his face. Of course, that pain would erase the pain Drekkin just inflicted by pulling him by the ear. He looked to see that Hyrule Castle Town still looked the same. It appeared that nothing had changed. The difference was that the streets seemed to be empty, which wasn't a surprise considering it was the middle of the night, but usually there were at least dogs out.

"Well, should we start looking?" Knigma asked.

"I think that would be the best course of action," Drekkin said. "Now which way is the Happy Mask shop?"

Knigma pointed to a familiar building. "That one. That's the one."

Knigma approached the shop and walked in, but saw that the entire place was deserted. There wasn't a sign of life.

"It's empty," Drekkin said, noting the obvious.

"O…k…" Knigma tried saying. "Maybe he's on vacation."

"Vacation?!" Drekkin demanded. "He's the only one with Majora's Mask! We have to FIND him!"

"Will you relax?" Knigma muttered angrily. "All is not lost. We just have to ask some of the locals. Let's try the bazaar."

Knigma and Drekkin walked out of the Happy Mask shop and went to the bazaar. Knigma opened the door and walked in, only to find that the bazaar was also empty.

"O…k…" Knigma said slowly. "Maybe the bazaar guy's on vacation too."

"Now what?" Drekkin asked, seemingly irritated.

"Ah! The potion shop!" Knigma said cockily. "The potion shop will have someone in there."

Knigma and Drekkin left the deserted bazaar and went next door to the potion shop. Much to Knigma's chagrin, the potion shop was also empty.

"O…k…" Knigma said slowly. "Now this is getting weird."

"This whole town's deserted!" Drekkin shouted. "There isn't ANYONE around here!"

"Well, I can't say I blame them," Knigma tried explaining. "With rays of sunshine like General Dore out there, did you think they'd stick around? Come on, Drekkin, think. Where else would Hylians hang out?"

"I suppose we could try Kakariko Village," Drekkin said thoughtfully. "It's the only place I can think of."

"Then that's where we go," Knigma said brightly. "But jeez, you'd think there'd be SOME signs of life out here."

As they walked out of Hyrule Castle Town and out towards Hyrule Field, Knigma thought he saw something familiar. He saw three sleeping lizards by the drawbridge. Shrugging, he and Drekkin continued on while Knigma thought about all he had seen so far. Hyrule Castle was overrun with Kokiri, lizards were sleeping in the drawbridge, and Hyrule Castle Town was deserted. What else could be different about this world?

  
Chapter 19  


Link couldn't believe what he saw in front of him. To say it was different from the Lake Hylia he knew was a major understatement. There were many wooden platforms floating throughout the lake, and on each platform was a large building. They seemed to be homes…but for who were those set up?

"Should we investigate?" Link asked.

The three girls nodded. They were as overcome by the curiosity as Link was. Seeing no boat, they dove in and swam towards the first place they saw. They got out of the water and walked towards what looked like a place to stay. Link wondered who was inside.

He opened the door and inside he found a familiar face. He and Malon recognized him instantly.

"Ugh. Visitors. As if we haven't had enough problems."

Yes, there was a sour expression on the face of Ingo. He sure looked different. He wasn't clad in his farmhand clothes. Instead, he wore the clothes of a regular Hylian. He had on a red shirt with a white collar and the pants of a troubadour.

"I'm sorry," Malon tried saying. "We aren't interrupting anything, are we?"

"No, no, I suppose I should apologize," Ingo said. "You're new here, aren't you? Sorry, but we've been edgy lately. Oh, wait…where are my manners. Ahem…Welcome to the Hotel Hylia, can I offer you a room?"

Link felt lucky. It WAS already dark, so it was quite a coincidence to just stumble onto a hotel. Especially one apparently run by Ingo.

"Oh, wait," Ingo continued. "I almost forgot. Hey, Talon! We've got visitors!"

Link saw that Malon's face suddenly grew more intense as she heard Ingo call this universe's version of her father. He came running down from the stairs and looked to be as portly as ever before.

"Visitors?" Talon asked. "Why I can't believe it. It's been a long time since someone's stopped by, what with the war and everything."

"What do you expect?" Ingo pointed out. "They're foreigners."

"I'm sorry…" Zelda began. "But did you say there was a war?"

"See? Foreigners," Ingo repeated. "And apparently they've been living under a rock."

"You folks don't need to be worried about the war," Talon said assuredly. "I sure as heck don't."

****CRASH****

Everyone looked to their left to see that a huge rock flew in and shattered one of the vases inside the hotel. Ingo walked over to pick it up.

"Not again!" Talon groaned. "What does this one say, Ingo?"

Ingo briefly read the note attached. "Same thing as all the others. Choose a side or else."

"But I can't choose sides," Talon said. "Why can't they understand that?" He shook his head and looked back at Link. "But enough of my problems, let me get you a room."

"Uh, thanks," Link smiled, accepting the offer.

Talon led them up the stairs and into a room with three beds.

"I guess one of you will have to sleep on the floor," Talon said.

The three girls shot a glance at Link. Link groaned. Ah, the price of being a gentlemen.

  
Chapter 20  


Link woke up from his sleep and looked outside. It was still dark outside, but this was the best time to leave. He had to find out about this 'war' and what it was about. Hopefully, he could duck out before he was spotted.

"Link!"

Link abruptly turned around to see that Saria was now awake as well.

"S-Saria," Link said nervously. "You should be asleep."

"So should you," the Forest Sage shot back. "You aren't planning on leaving us here, are you?"

"Well, no," Link answered. "I was just planning on going outside for a while. I just need some time to think."

"Well, can I come too?" Saria asked. "I also have some thinking to do."

Link didn't see any problem with that. "I guess so. Just don't wake anybody up."

Link and Saria walked out of the room and down the stairs. He noticed the shattered pieces of the vase were now cleaned up. Link assumed that Ingo would be trying to piece it back together. He and Saria walked out of the Hotel Hylia and he sat on the edge of the wooden platform, looking out into the much different Lake Hylia. The sight of dozens of these wooden scaffoldings holding up these homes still boggled his mind.

"Look at this place," Link said. "Hundreds of homes floating on the lake. How did this happen?"

Saria just sat silently, her young head hanging down. She seemed to be distracted. It didn't look like her mind was in this at all.

Link tried to find out what was troubling his little friend. "Something wrong?"

Saria quickly raised her head, startled at the sudden question. "Huh?"

"What's wrong? Something bothering you?"

"Well…"

Silence.

"Saria, we've known each other almost our whole lives," Link said.

The Forest Sage shot him a glance.

"Ok, I'VE known YOU almost my whole life," Link corrected himself. "The point is, we can talk about anything. Now tell me, what's wrong?"

Saria sighed deeply. "It's…something that happened back at the Forest Temple. The last time I was there, I really wanted to put that day aside to spend alone with Somi and Mira. After all the time I left the village, I wanted to spend a day renewing our friendship by just talking and sharing old memories of days past. We laughed and smiled and I could swear that it was just like old times. But then I talked about how we would be friends forever and…"

"And…?"

"The laughter stopped and the smiles faded. Somi and Mira reminded me of the deep strife that my leaving the village caused. Then they went to say something about what would happen if I was ever forced to leave them again." The emerald girl's voice cracked. "It was almost as if they were unwilling to resume our friendship. Then the portal opened and I was pulled in. Link, what if I never see them again? This is the kind of thing they feared and it's happened. I've been forced away from my friends once more and I might never see them again."

Link thought about that. Suddenly, he remembered that he was getting sidetracked by all the wonders and perplexities of this parallel universe, and forgot that he had no idea how they would get back.

"I'll find a way to get us back. Don't worry about it," Link said. But honestly, he couldn't believe his own words.

"But what about Somi and Mira?" Saria asked, tearfully. "I don't think they'll ever be comfortable resuming our friendship."

"Come on, Saria. I've known you three for a long time," Link said assuredly. "And you've always been the best of friends. And I'm confident that your friendship can endure anything, even a five- year hiatus. Trust me, it'll all work out."

He got what he was looking for. Saria smiled. She seemed to feel a lot better.

"Can't sleep, huh?"

Link and Saria turned around to see Talon walk out and sit beside them.

"I can't blame you," the stout Talon continued. "It's been really hectic these past few weeks. Needless to say, this war's been bad for business. Especially with everyone pressuring me to choose sides."

Again, the curiosity was too much for Link. "What IS this war I keep hearing about?"

"You haven't heard?" Talon asked. "Wow, you MUST be new here if you haven't heard about the Hylian Civil War."

"Hylian Civil War?" Saria repeated. "What's that?"

"It came shortly after the evil one was defeated and Kakariko Village was destroyed," Talon began. "All the Hylians picked up and moved out here to Lake Hylia, since we weren't exactly welcome back in Hyrule Castle Town. When we saw that there wasn't room for all of us on the shore and we all had surplus wood, we all decided to build these wooden platforms and make our homes on the lake. After all the building and construction was finished, then we ran into some trouble."

"What happened?" Saria asked.

"You see, the evil one was orphaned. The years before the war took place, there was a good number of Hylians who took the evil one in. The other Hylians believe that they should be held just as responsible for the evil one's rampage. They formed a group called Forsverers, self-proclaimed defenders of Hyrule. And they believed that those Hylians should be kicked out of Lake Hylia and forced to live somewhere else. The other Hylians formed a group called Frihads, Hylians for freedom. And they refused to leave. So a civil war was proclaimed and it's been that way ever since. The war won't end until one of the groups packs up and leaves. And they constantly look for people who seemingly haven't chosen a side. That's why they're throwing rocks at my hotel. They want me and Ingo to choose a side. And it doesn't stop there. There have even been rumors that members of both sides have been pressuring the Zoras into this fight as well."

At those words, Link suddenly remembered the Zora meeting. That was what Ruto was addressing. The Zoras have been neutral over the civil war, and the Hylians want them to choose sides.

Talon looked up at the rising dawn. "Well, I guess it's early. I'd better get back inside."

Suddenly, a thought hit Link. "Talon, wait!"

The chunky hotel owner turned around. "Yes?"

"I just have a quick question," Link said slowly. "Did you…have a daughter?"

Something about that question struck something in Talon. He hung his head down sadly. "I did once. Now I don't know anymore." With those words, he walked back inside the hotel.

"What do you think he meant by that?" Saria asked.

Link didn't say anything, but he shuddered to think. Already, he found out that King Zora was dead in this universe. Was Malon dead too? Talon seemed unsure. Was she lost? Had she disappeared?

"I think it's time to check out," Link finally said. "I think we should find out some more about these Forsverers and Frihads."

"Us?" Saria asked. "You really think we should get involved?"

"Maybe we were sent here for a purpose," Link responded. "And that purpose might be to put an end to this war."

"So where do we go first?"

Link looked out towards the many floating houses of Lake Hylia. "I don't know. We could start anywhere, I guess. We'd better go wake up Malon and Zelda."

Link and Saria got up and walked back into the Hotel Hylia in the face of a rising sun.

  


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com


	5. Part 5: Two sides: A friend and an enemy

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 21  


After waking up Malon and Zelda, Link was finally ready to check out. He walked down the stairs to see that Ingo and Talon were both standing behind the front desk. Talon was still trying to put the broken vase back together, and it looked like he had finally done it.

"It's finished!" Talon declared proudly.

"You been must have at it all night," Ingo said. "Don't you ever get any sleep, Talon?"

"No, there are just too many things to do around here," Talon answered. "I can't sleep."

"You should try it sometime," Ingo suggested. "Sheesh. You've got to be the hardest working person in Hyrule."

Link shook his head confusedly. He had never heard the words 'Talon' and 'hard work' in the same sentence before. Another tremendous difference from the universe he knew.

"Well, we're checking out," Link said. "How much do we owe you?"

"Oh, don't think nothing of it," Talon said kindly. "It's free of charge. I couldn't feel comfortable charging a foreigner to use our hotel."

"I thought that was the point of hotels," Ingo said, exasperated. "To house foreigners."

"Aw, come on, Ingo," Talon said. "They're nice folks. We'll let them slide just this once. But I never got any of your names."

Zelda shot Link a quick glance to remind him that they were traveling incognito.

"I'm…Liam."

"Selma."

"Sally."

"Mary."

"Well Liam, Selma, Sally, and Mary, I hope to see you all again someday. But until then, adios."

Link led everyone out of the hotel and looked at his next target. The house directly across from the hotel. He dove in, followed by the three girls, and wondered what else he might see in this different version of Lake Hylia.

  
Chapter 22  


After leaving Hyrule Castle Town, there was only one place left to find the Hylian populace. That place was Kakariko Village. And that was where Knigma and Drekkin were going next. They walked up the stairs and were about to enter the town to resume their search for Yeddop, the owner of the Happy Mask Shop. And through him, they would have Majora's Mask.

"Well, we're here," Knigma said, as they approached the entrance to the village. "Now Yeddop could be anywhere. So we could be in for a long search. So first, we'll try…aye…aye…aye yi yi!"

Knigma was overcome by what he saw. Kakariko Village was destroyed. It lay completely in ashes and there wasn't a single building left standing. Even the windmill was utterly decimated.

"What the heck happened here?!" Knigma shrieked in disbelief. "This place is a wasteland!!"

Drekkin grabbed Knigma by the shirt. "Well, now what?! There obviously aren't any Hylians in the town or in the village?! Where ELSE are we going to look for them?"

"I don't know," Knigma said, obviously frustrated. "If they're not here and they're not there, they could be anywhere. I guess we'll just have to search the rubble, hoping for some kind of lead."

"Well, we'd better find them!" Drekkin barked. "I WANT MY MASK!"

"And you'll have your mask!" Knigma shouted. "Nobody said finding the mask would be easy! It might take us days, weeks, even months, but we'll find that mask!"

"We'd better! Or else I'll go back to our universe without you!" Drekkin said angrily.

"Well, in that case, we'd better start looking."

Knigma and Drekkin ran into the remnants of Kakariko Village and started digging through the remains, hoping to find some sign of where the Hylians, and Yeddop, might be.

* * *

It had to have been about an hour, but Somi didn't see any sign of medallions in the basement room. She had to have looked in every corner without any luck. But she had to keep looking. For Saria's sake, she couldn't give up.

"Hey! I found something!"

Somi abruptly turned to see that Mira found something behind one of the paintings. She and Sodo rushed over to see that she discovered a box full of medallions, six of them.

"Those are the medallions," Sodo smiled.

"So how do we use them?" Somi asked.

Sodo dug through the box and pulled out an orange medallion. "Like this."

The young boy threw the orange medallion down and a ray of light shined down on it. From the ray of light emerged a portal, much different than the one that abducted Saria. This one looked a lot friendlier.

"If this is the one I think it is, then it's time for me to see an old friend," Sodo said. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Mira handed him a bottle of red potion. "You'd better take this."

Sodo took the bottle and stepped into the portal. After he walked in, the portal closed and the ray of light faded.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Mira asked.

Somi could only answer, "I hope so."

  
Chapter 23  


"Wait here, I'll be right back."

With those words, Link left Malon, Zelda, and Saria outside the door and walked into the building. It certainly looked like the biggest one in Lake Hylia, so Link suggested that they check there first. It took him a while to explain the whole thing to Malon and Zelda, but they seemed to understand just how bad this civil war could get. He just had to find out more about this war, and see if there was any other way to stop it.

Seeing the shelves full of supplies led Link to conclude that he was in a shop. But the counter was empty and there were no customers anywhere.

"HANDS UP!!!!!"

Link quickly put up his hands as someone emerged from the counter. He was a huge, burly individual who held a large bow and arrow in his hand and pointed it at Link.

"Who are you?" the large man asked.

After getting a closer look, Link recognized him. "Zacchuee?"

"No, Zacchuee is MY name!" the bazaar owner answered. "Who are YOU?!"

"Zacchuee, it's me L…" Link stuttered. He almost forgot he couldn't give his real name. "…Liam."

"I don't know any Liam!" Zacchuee shouted. He laid his bow down. "But then again, I don't think anybody here's heard of a 'Liam'. I should apologize, but I've been edgy. It's that Frihad scum. They've been the bane of us all. But enough about me…Welcome to the Bazaar. Can I help you with anything?"

Link slowly put his hands down. "N-N-No, I was just passing by."

"You must be new in town, I've never seen you around," Zacchuee said. "But from the looks of you, I can see you're ready to join the good Forsverers in the fight against those blasted Frihads. Are you not?"

Link first instinct was to declare his neutrality, but he had already seen what Talon and Ingo had to go through with their refusal to take sides. He didn't want to take any chances with the big Zacchuee, especially since he still had a giant bow nearby. Besides, Link had an idea.

"Of…course," Link said. "I've heard of the efforts of the Forsverers and have agreed to join in the good fight. But tell me, I'm new here. Just who are we up against?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean who leads this radical group who don't deserve to call themselves Hylians?"

"Oh, you must mean HER," Zacchuee said through clenched teeth. He pointed out towards a small shack. "That's where SHE lives. We've all wanted to attack, but she and our good leader have agreed to grant each other immunity. We don't attack her, and they don't attack our leader. The gist of it is that whichever side loses the war will force the other side and their leader out in disgrace. But basically, that's where she lives."

"Is that so?" Link said thoughtfully. "Well…I have to go now."

"Wait a minute," Zacchuee said cautiously. "You aren't planning on going over there, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Don't lie to me!" Zacchuee shouted. "Remember, there's immunity, Liam. If I find out that something happened to HER, we'd have to hurt you. Understand me?"

"Yeah, I understand," 'Liam' said. "Just don't worry about it."

He left the bazaar and as Link walked out, the three nervous girls walked up to him.

"What was all that shouting?" Saria asked.

"Are you ok?" Malon added.

"What did you find out?" added Zelda.

"Nothing much…" Link began. "But if anyone asks, we're Forsverers."

"WHAT?" all three asked.

"That's just if anyone like HIM asks," Link said, motioning inside the bazaar. "But right now, we're going to see a Frihad."

"A Frihad?" Zelda asked skeptically. "And what if any Forsverers see us?"

"That's a chance we'll have to take," Link responded. "But in that house lies the leader of the Frihads, and maybe there we'll find out everything we need to know about stopping this war. So what do you say? Should we all pay a visit?"

The three girls nodded.

"Good," Link grinned. "Race you."

Link jumped into the water, getting a head start. Malon, Saria, and Zelda followed. As Link approached the big house, he thought about what this leader looked like and what it would take for her to put an end to this.

  
Chapter 24  


When Sodo reached the other side of the portal, he looked at his surroundings. The enormous walls, the sky-high roof, and the mammoth statue that stood in front of him. Indeed, the boy was in the Spirit Temple.

Sodo looked up to see the face of the statue, where the door to the big chamber was held. The big chamber that once housed the two witches, Twinrova. And Sodo remembered that that was the place where he would most likely find Nabooru, the Sage of Spirit.

But first, Sodo had to find a way to reach the high area. That's when he heard something. Someone was in there. Hoping to avoid any unnecessary conflict, Sodo ducked behind a vase. He stuck his head out to see that a Gerudo thief walked through the door. The Gerudo stood under the circular wooden platform, and it came down, as if on cue. He didn't question how it happened. All Sodo did was duck behind the Gerudo as the platform went up. He got lucky, for the thief didn't hear anything. She had no idea Sodo was standing behind her.

When they reached the statue's face, the Gerudo jumped onto it and walked through the door. The door closed, and Sodo saw his chance. He took a drink of the red potion, hoping to avoid the sudden emergence of the disease of the vastness. Then he leapt off the platform and onto the statue's face. The door opened and he walked into the hallway. The next door led to Nabooru's chamber. This is what he wanted. If anyone could help him, it was Nabooru…assuming she remembered him.

He slowly approached the door, and reached to open it, but the door suddenly flew open. The same Gerudo thief who went in earlier was exiting, and she spotted Sodo. The Gerudo reacted like lightning, knocking him down and holding a sword at the young boy's throat.

"Who are you?!" the Gerudo demanded. "State your business!!"

Sodo gulped nervously. "I-I-I'm just to s-s-s-see Nabooru."

"You want to see the exalted Nabooru?" the thief asked. "Who are you to believe that you can just merely walk in here and see the exalted Nabooru? Unless you come with evil intentions! I should kill you now!"

"N-n-no!" Sodo stuttered. "I just have to see her. I'm an old friend."

"You dare lie to my face?!" the Gerudo shouted. "You've just sealed your fate!"

The Gerudo reared back. Sodo could do nothing but close his eyes. It seemed that death was now upon him.

"What's going on here?!"

The Gerudo stopped in mid-slash. Sodo opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he was still in one piece. Then he looked at the door to see a friendly face standing there. It was Nabooru.

The Gerudo looked at the Spirit Sage. "I saw this intruder trying to break in. I figured he was up to no good."

Nabooru looked at Sodo and seemingly recognized him from her expression of shock. "You! It's you!" She looked at the Gerudo. "Thanks the same, but I'll handle this one myself."

"You sure?" the thief asked. "I can skewer him if you'd like."

"That won't be necessary, but thanks anyway," Nabooru smiled. She showed the thief the door and looked back at Sodo. "Wow. It's been a long time, kid. Last time I saw you, you and young Saria were getting all emotional under the trees in Hyrule Castle. So what brings you here?"

"Nabooru…" Sodo began. "…I need your help."

"You came all the way here to ask me for help?" Nabooru asked in surprise. "That's something I'd expect from…" Nabooru paused. Her expression grew grim. "…Saria's in trouble…isn't she?"

Sodo nodded. "She got sucked into some portal to who-knows-where. I didn't know who else to turn to. I need you to help me get her back."

"Well, I don't know if you came to the right place," Nabooru admitted. "But I can sure try. In fact, if this is as bad as I think it is, I may HAVE to try. Where do I start?"

"Back at the Forest Temple," Sodo answered. "How do I get back?"

"Stand back and let an expert try," Nabooru grinned.

Sodo stepped back and Nabooru opened a portal of light. She stopped at the foot of the portal.

"You coming?"

Sodo nodded quickly and ran into the portal, leaving the Spirit Temple to return to the forest.

  
Chapter 25  


Link surfaced from the water and dried himself off. While Malon, Saria, and Zelda got out of the water, he looked at the house in front of him. It was a small house and the door was open, so Link walked in. He looked back to see that the three girls had stayed behind, obviously remembering the incident that occurred in the bazaar.

"Hello?" Link called out.

Silence.

"Hello…? ACK!"

Something had Link by the neck. It felt like a huge cloth was choking him. He grabbed the wrists of the assailant and flipped the attacker over his head. Before the assailant could recover, Link unleashed his sword and there was a standoff. But Link couldn't believe who it was.

She wore a black blouse and a large skirt, but the red hair and beautiful face were unmistakable. It was…Malon.

"What do you want?" Malon demanded. "We agreed on immunity! How dare you attack me!"

Link stood speechless. The leader of the Frihads was Malon? He looked at the doorway behind him to see that his Malon was just as shocked as he was.

"Well, answer me!" Malon shouted. "What do you want?!"

"I…just wanted to ask a few questions," Link answered. "But I mean you no harm."

"How about your friends?" the parallel Malon asked. She glanced at the doorway. "Come on! Don't think I don't see you! I'm not blind! Get in here!"

Zelda, Saria, and the other Malon walked in from the doorway. Link realized that this could get confusing.

"Who are you?" the Malon in black asked. "Tell me!"

Zelda introduced herself first. "I'm Selma."

"I'm Sally."

"I-I'm…Mary."

Link was still speechless. Zelda cleared her throat, quickly refocusing Link. "I'm…Liam."

"Nice to meet you," the Malon in black said bitingly. "You probably recognize me. You probably know that I'm Malon, the leader of the Frihads. And that's why you're here, isn't it? You're here to kill me, aren't you?"

"N-No," Link said nervously. "We're not from around here. In fact…we're here to join the Frihad cause."

Zelda, Saria, and the farm girl Malon glared at Link.

The Frihad Malon wasn't buying this. "How do you expect me to believe that?"

"Think about it," Link replied. "Have you ever heard of a Selma, Sally, Mary, and Liam in these parts?"

"I…guess not."

"Then you know we're not from around here," 'Liam' continued. "In fact, we've come from afar to join your righteous cause."

"Really?" the Frihad Malon asked. "But just what makes you think you can just walk in here and become a Frihad?"

"Honestly, we know we can't," Link confessed. "Not until we've heard the whole story."

"So you want to hear everything?" the Frihad Malon concluded. "Then by all means, have a seat and make yourselves comfortable. I have a lot to tell you."

  
Chapter 26  


Link braced himself for the long explanation from the parallel Malon. He looked to his left to see that his Malon was watching the Frihad Malon closely as she prepared something in the kitchen. The farm girl Malon now wore her hair in a bun in order to keep the Frihad Malon from noticing any similarity.

"What are you thinking about?" Link asked the farm girl.

"I can't believe she looks so much like me," Malon responded. "So here, I'm a freedom fighter? That's so cool. And I've got to admit, I look good in black."

The Frihad Malon walked back in with a pitcher of water, leaving it on the table. She took a deep breath. "So you want to know everything. Where do I begin?"

"From the beginning," Zelda suggested.

The Malon in black sighed. "The beginning. Well, in the beginning we took in a young boy to raise as our own. He had to be in his preteens, and we figured that we couldn't just leave him out in the streets, so we took care of him. But there was something about him. He never had a dark side to him but one day, his evil side just emerged out of nowhere.

"Eventually, the evil one was subdued and defeated. And with our homes destroyed, we were forced to make our homes out here, in Lake Hylia. But it wasn't enough for them. They couldn't let us live in harmony! NO! They HAD to play the blame game!"

"The blame game?" Saria asked.

"Exactly," the Frihad Malon continued. "The game was, the Forsverers blamed us for everything that happened! All because we were the ones who decided to raise the boy. They're holding us responsible for all the damage the evil one caused. So they want to kick us all out of Lake Hylia as a punishment. But of course we aren't leaving without a fight. If they don't like us, then THEY can leave!"

"Is that just cause for war, though?" the farm girl Malon asked.

"Yes! I've had it with this! My life has been in shambles these last few years and I don't need some Forsverer freaks trying to kick me out of my home because of something I couldn't see coming!"

"Your life's been in shambles?" Zelda asked. "How?"

"I don't want to talk about it," the parallel Malon said. "Let's just leave it at problems with an ex- boyfriend."

Link tried to cut to the chase. "But come on, Malon. I mean, we support you and everything, but isn't there any other way to settle this besides war. I mean, there isn't really any need for bloodshed, is there?"

The Frihad Malon seemed to be huffing in anger. "Listen to me, boy! These guys have got to pay for all the pain they've caused. Now there are only two ways this war will end, and that's if the higher-ups at Hyrule Castle order an end or if these Forsverers pick up and leave! But with the nobles being so apathetic, it's looking like the latter's more likely to happen."

Link looked out the window to see that the sun was setting, and he had all the information he needed. He had an idea.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to go," Link said, getting up. Seeing Link get up, the three girls took the hint and stood up as well.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" the Frihad Malon asked.

"No, really," Link responded. "We've really got to get going. But thank you. You've really revealed a lot to me."

Link turned around and started walking out. The farm girl Malon quickly ran to his side.

"You have an idea, don't you?"

Link nodded and walked outside, but much to his dismay, there were many people waiting out front. They each held swords and didn't look to be friendly. Link recognized the one in front to be the bazaar owner, Zacchuee.

"I warned you, boy!" the bazaar owner shouted. "Didn't I warn you not to come here?!"

The Frihad Malon came running out. "What's going on out here? What are you Forsverer scum doing on my property?"

**"This doesn't concern you, Malon. This is between us and the foreigners."**

Link…recognized that voice. The cockiness, the charisma, the…presence was too familiar. Indeed, Link's suspicion was confirmed.

Out from the crowd of Forsverers, walked Knigma.

  


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com.


	6. Part 6: Sheik returns

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 27  


Link was nearly fuming with anger. Of all the parallel people he had to see, the one he didn't want to see was a parallel version of Knigma. And apparently, he didn't have good intentions for Link and his friends.

Knigma looked at the Frihad Malon. "You know we're not here for you, you have our word. Remember, we agreed on immunity. The Forsverers don't touch you and the Frihads don't touch me."

Link's eyes grew wide at that revelation. KNIGMA was the leader of the Forsverers. Why didn't that surprise him?

"We just have a few questions for our foreign friends here," Knigma continued. "My friend, Zacchuee, ordered them to stay away from this place. The last thing we want are some foreign goons breaking the immunity agreement."

"Well you don't have to worry about that," the Malon in black shot back. "These four are loyal Frihads."

"Loyal Frihads?" Zacchuee repeated. He grabbed Link by the tunic. "You told me you were Forsverers!"

"Well, he obviously lied to you, Zacchuee," Malon grinned, with her hands on her hips.

"Well he's lying to somebody! Zacchuee put him down!" Knigma ordered. "Ok, stranger, you have one second to tell me whose side you're on!"

Link had only one answer. "I'm not on anybody's side!"

The parallel Malon's grin faded and she grew angry. "You scoundrel! You said you were a Frihad! How DARE you lie to me!"

"He lied to us first!" Zacchuee shouted. "He told us he was a Forsverer! You want me to break this kid, Knigma?"

"That won't be necessary, Zacchuee," Knigma said calmly. He stared coldly at Link. "We're in a civil war here, man. And if there's one thing we hate, it's double agents. But I'm in a kind mood today, so I'm just going to give you until dawn to GET OUT of Lake Hylia and never even THINK of coming back. That goes for your other double agents too."

"And don't think the Frihads will have any mercy on you either," the Frihad Malon added. "If any of us see you around, then you'll regret it!"

"But where are my manners?" Knigma said in a menacing tone. "Forsverers, give these four a head start!"

The army of Forsverers approached Link, Saria, Zelda, and the farm girl Malon. A group of them each grabbed them and tossed them into the lake.

As the Forsverers jeered, Link remained undaunted. His work in Lake Hylia was done anyway.

  
Chapter 28  


As Link looked back at Lake Hylia, he couldn't help but wonder about all he had seen. Malon was a Frihad leader and Knigma led the Forsverers. And if this Knigma wasn't any different than the Knigma in his universe, then having him in a position of power was a scary thought.

"What do we do now?" Malon asked.

"We go to Hyrule Castle," Link answered. "We'll get whoever's in charge to stop the war."

Zelda shook her head. "It's a long way to the castle from here, especially without a horse. I have a better idea."

"What's that, Zelda?" Saria asked.

"Call me crazy," Zelda began. "But this Knigma didn't seem like the evil, insane creep who manipulated the entire Hylian populace. This Knigma looks like he can be reasoned with. And I have a feeling that if I get five minutes with him, I can get him to stop the war."

"No way!" Link scoffed. "It'll never happen."

"Oh yeah?!" Zelda shot back. "I'll show you! You just watch me. By the time I get back, this war will be over!"

"Just one problem," Malon pointed out. "We just got banished. If they see you, they'll call the troops in on you."

"That's why I have a little something I've always kept for a rainy day," Zelda responded. She reached into her dress and pulled out another set of clothes. It was a set of blue and white clothes that looked extremely familiar. Then it hit Link.

Zelda was going back into Lake Hylia under the guise of Sheik.

  
Chapter 29  


It felt exhilarating to wear the old disguise again. Zelda hadn't worn her Sheik suit since the Imprisonment War and she went around Hyrule incognito helping Link on his quest. But this day, Sheik returned once more, ready to stop this civil war between the Hylians. They wouldn't recognize her as Princess Zelda, for even Link at first sight believed that Sheik was actually a male.

Sheik's first stop was the bazaar. Sheik walked in and immediately saw Zacchuee, the bazaar owner, quickly emerge pointing a bow and arrow. Sheik just continued towards the counter.

"I mean you no harm," Sheik said. "I just to ask you a question."

"You obviously must be either gutsy or stupid," Zacchuee responded. "Anyone else would have stopped in their tracks at the face of an arrow."

"I do not fear you, Zacchuee," Sheik said. "For I know you will not shoot me."

"What makes you so sure, stranger?" Zacchuee demanded.

"Because you would not shoot a fellow Forsverer," Sheik said fearlessly.

"Sounds like the right answer to me," Zacchuee said, as he laid down his bow. "What do you want to know, friend?"

"Our leader, Knigma," Sheik began. "Where can I find him?"

"Why do want to see Knigma?" Zacchuee asked suspiciously.

"I have something urgent to report to him," Sheik answered. "It involves the Frihads."

"Now wait a minute," Zacchuee said. "Anything about the Frihads, you just feel free to tell me. I can tell Knigma."

"Too risky," Sheik said without hesitation. "There may be Frihad spies around every corner. It's best that I deliver this information to Knigma personally. Now where can I find him?"

"It's the large building behind the bazaar. You can't miss it."

"Thank you, my friend," Sheik said. After that, Sheik walked out of the bazaar and dove back into the lake.

This felt so invigorating to be travelling like this again. After years of being Princess Zelda, it was good to be Sheik once more, if even for a few moments. It brought back memories of days past. Sheik surfaced out of the water and noticed the giant house. It looked a lot like the small shack that the Knigma of Princess Zelda's universe lived in.

Sheik carefully walked in, hoping not to incite any sudden attacks. Then Sheik found Knigma lying down in his bed. It was time for Sheik to end this war.

"Knigma!"

Knigma jumped out of his bed and backed into a corner. "Who are you? You can't be in here! We have an agreement! I can't be touched, I have immunity!"

"I'm not here to hurt you, Knigma," Sheik said. "I am merely here to ask you a question."

"What's that?"

Sheik took a deep breath. "I have heard everything about the Hylian Civil War. I understand everything that's happened. The evil one's rage has come and gone, but for you that is not enough. You fear that it was the Frihads who unleashed the evil one's wrath, and therefore you feel they should be punished. But why? Aren't you only adding to the violence and rage? Isn't it much better to forgive?"

"You're not from around here, are you?" Knigma asked skeptically. "You're not from around here, you can't be expected to know everything that's happened. The thing is, we WARNED them. We knew that something was different about that boy…something evil. But our pleas fell on deaf ears and the Frihads just welcomed him into our society. And because of that, our society was nearly destroyed. So if we have to start anew, it won't be with the Frihads. They have to pay for what they've done."

"But hasn't this gone on long enough?" Sheik pleaded. "If the war doesn't end now, then when?"

"Let me tell you something, stranger," Knigma said in a huff. "There are only two ways this war ends. One, the royalty mandates an end, and if that happens, we'll do it without hesitation. I mean, those nobles are nothing to mess with. Or two, the Frihads admit defeat and leave our land."

"But…"

"But nothing!" Knigma cut Sheik off. "I think it's time for you to leave."

"I'm not leaving, Knigma," Sheik said boldly. "Not until you agree to put a stop to this."

Knigma shook his head. "Very well, then. Guards!"

Apparently, Knigma took no chances. Despite the immunity agreement, he had four bulky Hylian guards standing by in another room. They advanced towards Sheik.

Sheik just stood there, as gallant as before. "I can take a hint. I can see my own way out. But I can't say I'm not disappointed. I thought you were better than this, Knigma."

Knigma frowned. "You don't understand. You can't understand all the losses I've had to endure because of the Frihads. Their stubbornness cost me just about everything. Because of their refusal to listen, that boy ended up costing me my business, my home…and my friends. You can't understand what that felt like. And that's why this war can't end. Not until they're made to pay."

Having heard this, Sheik turned around and walked away, calmly walking through the four large guards. As good as it felt to be Sheik once more, it seemed to be all for naught. It was obvious that neither side could be reasoned with. Defeated, Sheik dove into the water and swam towards the path to Hyrule Field.

  
Chapter 30  


It was getting hopeless.

Mido searched every nook and cranny and tried triggering any little thing, but it was no use. Nothing seemed to cause the lightning to strike again or reopen the portal. But that didn't stop the stubborn Kokiri boss from continuing his search. Of course, Miso, Fala, and Ralo had just about given up.

"Come on, Mido," Miso whined. "We've looked everywhere."

"I don't think there's anything left to look through," Fala pointed out.

"You just about pulled every vine out of the wall," Ralo added. "And our feet are sore from stomping the ground. There's nothing left to do."

"Quiet, all of you!" Mido snapped. "There has to be something I haven't tried! It can't be hopeless! THERE HAS TO BE A WAY TO OPEN THAT PORTAL!!!!!"

Mido's anger and frustration was overtaking him. He was now pounding the walls and stomping his feet in a futile effort to trigger. But Mido was starting to believe that it WAS hopeless. There was nothing he could do to reopen the portal. All he could do was keep trying.

* * *

Dore was falling asleep and fast. It had been days of trying, but nothing seemed to create storm clouds. Of course, no one was more tired than his brother, Dila. Dila had been doing that tribal rain dance nonstop for days. But nothing came of it. It only served to make Dila look goofy (which at any other time, would have been welcome).

"C-C-Can I stop NOW?" Dila asked breathlessly. His dance had now slowed to a mere tired trot.

"N-No," Dore said, just as winded. "K-Keep going."

"Come on, Dore," Sofa pleaded. "It's been days. This isn't going to work."

Rala shook her head. "Ugh. It was my best makeup, too."

"I'm guessing those ancient peoples used a better shade of red," Domi grinned.

Dila continued slowing down until he just couldn't take anymore. The tired Know-It-All collapsed on the ground.

"Dila!" Dore groaned. "Did I say you could stop?"

"Who cares?" Dila shot back. "I quit!"

"You can't quit!" Dore shouted. "We were just getting close. I think I saw about half a cloud in the sky."

"Well, if you think we were so close, then YOU do this stupid dance!" Dila said angrily.

Dore gave a nervous half-smile. "You already look the part."

"Not for long!" Dila said in a huff. "I'm taking a long bath. It'll take me hours to get this junk off me."

"My makeup is NOT junk!" Rala shouted out.

"Try wearing it for TWO OR THREE DAYS!" Dila responded indignantly. "That's enough makeup to last me a hundred years!"

"Dila, come on, we're family," Dore pleaded. "And a member of our Kokiri family is in danger. You can't just quit on her."

Dila frowned. "I want Saria back as much as anybody, but face it, Dore. This isn't going to work!" Having said that, Dila stormed out and headed to the nearest pond.

As much as Dore hated to admit it, Dila was right. This wouldn't work. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Dore's plan had failed miserably. He glared back at Sofa, Rala, and Domi.

"Well, what are you looking at?!" Dore snapped.

"Not much apparently," Rala said cynically.

"Oh shut up!" Dore said angrily. "There has to be another way to get rain. There just has to."

"Well, when you DO think of something, give us a call," Sofa said. Then he, Rala, and Domi left Dore alone. Alone to think of a new plan.

* * *

Somi and Mira had waited in the basement for hours. There was no sign of Sodo, and Somi began to worry. For all she knew, Sodo could be in the same situation as Saria, lost in a portal with nowhere to go. Then…a sound.

"Do you hear something?" Mira asked.

Somi couldn't utter anything, for just at that moment, a portal of light appeared in the basement. It was just the one Sodo walked into. And sure enough, Sodo came out of the portal, but he wasn't alone. He had someone with him. It was…a Gerudo.

"Well, I'm back," Sodo said proudly. "And I've brought someone back who can help us. Somi, Mira, this is the Spirit Sage, Nabooru."

Somi marveled at the Spirit Sage. She heard how ugly and unsightly the Gerudo thieves were. But Nabooru looked so young and beautiful. If course, as a Gerudo, she must have obviously been an accomplished warrior as well. And the gleam in her eye was a friendly one.

"Well, Sodo explained the problem to me," Nabooru said. "But he also told that it was you two who were there when it all happened."

"That's right," Somi confirmed.

"Then you can help me out," Nabooru continued. "Where did this whole thing happen?"

"Over here. Come this way."

Somi and Mira led Sodo and Nabooru to the basement room exit. Of course, if they were to take them to the scene of the catastrophe, it would be a big surprise to Mido. But that was a chance they would have to take.

  
Chapter 31  


Link continued waiting patiently for Zelda to come back. He, Saria, and Malon were starting to get nervous, since Zelda seemed so confident she would end the civil war in five minutes. But it had already been an hour and the princess still hadn't come back. Link began to think she was in trouble.

Then someone surfaced from the water. It was the familiar presence of Sheik. Even now that Link knows it's Zelda, the form of Sheik still held an awesome presence. He couldn't explain it, but Sheik still held that awesome aura of mystery.

"Well, how'd it go?" Link asked.

Sheik removed that hood to reveal the face of Princess Zelda. Her hair was tousled around in every direction, but it was her. And she didn't look too happy.

"It didn't work exactly like I had in mind," Zelda admitted. "I guess we'll have to do it your way."

"Then we're going to Hyrule Castle," Link said.

"But isn't it a little dark?" Saria pointed out.

It completely slipped Link's mind, but he looked to the sky to see a full moon. It was indeed late, and they had nowhere to stay.

"I guess we'll travel through the night," Link finally said.

But they didn't travel for too long. After about five minutes of walking, Link noticed two horses approaching them. When the horses stopped in front of them, Link saw that there were three women and a man riding them. He didn't really know the three women, but he definitely recognized the man. The familiar stature and auburn hair immediately revealed to Link who it was. It was Pofrigitio, the potion shop owner from Kakariko Village. Link turned to see that Saria obviously recognized him too. After all, Pofrigitio had raised Saria for five years while Link sat idle in the Temple of Time.

But it was one of the women who spoke first. She certainly looked different, especially her ears…which were short and round. "H-Hello. W-We noticed you passing by. Are you l-lost?"

Zelda, her hair still tousled out of place, answered, "No…we were just passing by."

"But it's late," another one said. She was a dark-skinned Hylian woman with short hair. "Don't you have anywhere to go?"

"Not…really," Malon said. "We were just planning to walk the whole night."

"Oh, we couldn't let you do that," said another girl in a kind voice. She looked to be the younger sister of the dark-skinned Hylian woman. But something was different about her. Then Link saw it. The girl was blind. "It can get dangerous out here in Hyrule Field."

"Well, we could offer them some shelter for the night," the dark-skinned woman said.

"Are you kidding?" Pofrigitio asked in surprise. "We were just leaving. We can't guide them all the way back."

"We don't have to stop going," the blind girl pointed out. "I'm sure they can find their way there."

"What about the others?" Pofrigitio growled. "Do you think they'll mind having four strangers in our home?"

"Come on, Pofrigitio," the first girl said. "T-They look f-friendly enough." She smiled at Link and his friends. "W-Would you like to s-stay at our p-place for tonight?"

"Your place?" Link asked.

"You might know where it is," the blind girl said. "We live at Lon Lon Ranch. Won't you stay there for the night?"

Malon's face brightened upon mention of the ranch. "Lon Lon Ranch? We'd love to!"

"Great!" the blind girl said cheerfully. "Of course, we can't take you there. We're heading to the desert, but we have two of our friends who can help you out once you get there. Just tell them we sent you."

"Thanks…" Zelda began. "But…who are you, anyway?"

The blind girl smiled warmly. "I'm Avaida." She motioned to the dark-skinned girl in front of her. "And this is my sister, Jenz." She looked at the other horse with the short-eared girl and Pofrigitio. "And these are our friends. Hyunia and this little ray of sunshine is Pofrigitio."

"Well it's nice to meet you," Zelda smiled back. "And thank you so much. We owe you big time."

"T-Think n-nothing of it," Hyunia said.

As happy as Link was, he couldn't help but notice that Saria seemed to be staring a hole right into Pofrigitio. The gaze she had was heartbreaking. It must have been tough for her. The father she had known wasn't exactly the lovable man he was back in their universe.

Pofrigitio sneered. "What are YOU looking at?"

"N-Nothing," Saria said sadly. "I just thought…you looked familiar. I thought you were someone I knew."

"And do you?" Pofrigitio asked.

"No…not really," Saria answered. "I'm thinking of someone else."

"Very well then," Pofrigitio said nonchalantly. "Well, I guess I can't argue with these three. The ranch is open to you. But just who are YOU?"

"My name's Liam," Link said. He motioned to his party. "And this is Selma, Mary, and Sally."

"Well, Liam, Selma, Mary, and Sally, you'd better get going," Jenz said. "It's getting late."

"Yes, thank you all," Link said. "We'll be sure to remember your hospitality."

"Say hi to our friends for us," Avaida grinned. "Goodbye."

The two horses galloped away, leaving Link, Zelda, Malon, and Saria in the field.

"Well, we caught ourselves a break," Zelda smiled.

"I can't believe it," Malon said cheerfully. "After all this time, I'm going to see the ranch again. But I wonder if it looks any different."

"Well, it sure is a different group of people living there," Saria added. It looked like she had nearly shaken off the sudden encounter with her surrogate father. "But did you see that one girl's ears? They looked different."

"I won't ask," was all Link said. "Let's just head to the ranch."

  
Chapter 32  


It didn't look any different. From the outside, Lon Lon Ranch looked exactly the same. Link wondered what could possibly be so different.

"Well, should we invite ourselves in?" Link smirked as they stood at the foot of the entrance.

No one said anything. They just walked into the ranch and the first thing they noticed, was that there was no one out. Link kept expecting to see Ingo come out any minute, before he remembered that this wasn't HIS Lon Lon Ranch. This place was different.

"Hello?" Link called out. "W-We're here to spend the night. Your friends Hyunia, Pofrigitio, Jenz, and Avaida invited us here. Is anybody home?"

Just then, the stable door opened and someone came out.

"Greetings."

The three girls behind Link almost fell at the shock of that sight. They quickly stepped back. Link instinctively unleashed his sword and pointed it at the one who came out. He couldn't believe who it was.

Standing in front of them…was Ganondorf.

  


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com.


	7. Part 7: Lon Lon Ranch...NOT the same as ...

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 33  


Link didn't move. He just held the sword pointed at Ganondorf. Of all the things he had seen in this parallel universe, the last thing he expected to see was the evil Gerudo King in the flesh.

"GET BACK!!" Link shouted.

But much to his surprise, Ganondorf DID step back. He seemed to be sweating nervously, which confused Link a bit.

"P-P-Please, sir," Ganondorf pleaded. "D-Don't hurt me. And take whatever you want, just don't kill me or any of my friends."

Link backed off out of pure and unbridled confusion. Ganondorf was…scared of him? He didn't understand this at all.

"Ganondorf, what's going on out here?"

A girl walked out and froze in horror. But Link's expression was one of even further confusion. He looked closely at the girl that had just come out and saw…Zelda. He looked behind him to see that his Zelda's jaw nearly dropped open in shock. But since she was still clad in the Sheik disguise, she figured it would be a good time to put the hood back on.

Link put his sword back in its holster. "Who are you people?"

"I-I'm Ganondorf, the owner of the ranch," the Gerudo said nervously. "And this is Zelda, one of the farmhands. But who are you?"

"And why are you pointing that sword at us?!" the other Zelda asked bravely.

Just then, Princess Zelda, now disguised as Sheik, walked over to Link and motioned him back.

"I must apologize for my friend," Sheik said. "He can be very edgy at times. Accept my deepest apologies. As for our identities, I am called Sheik. These are my friends, Mary and Sally. And the jumpy one is named Liam."

"Well, if you're not here to rob us or kill us, then why ARE you here?" the farm girl Zelda asked.

"We were approached by your friends," Sheik answered. "They said their names were Hyunia, Pofrigitio, Jenz, and Avaida?"

"That's them," Zelda nodded. "You mean they let you stay the night."

"They certainly are kind-hearted," Sheik continued. "But I can't blame you if you want us to leave immediately. After all, there is no excuse for my friend's outburst."

"No…really," Ganondorf said. "It's ok. We have some extra room. Think nothing of it. You just stay as long as you want."

"Thank you, Ganondorf," Sheik said. "We just need to stay the night and we'll be out in the morning."

"Ok, Sheik," Zelda smiled warmly. "Let me show you all to your room."

  
Chapter 34  


He was exhausted and ready to collapse, but Knigma was still searching the remains of Kakariko Village for any leads as to the whereabouts of the mask shop owner, Yeddop. But if there were no Hylians in Hyrule City or Kakariko Village, then where else would they be?

"I think I have something," Knigma said positively. He pulled out a charred board. "Nope. Just some barbecued wood."

Drekkin roared. "This is stupid! There's nothing in this rubble! What do you expect to find here?!"

Knigma pondered that. "I'm sure we'll find something. We haven't looked everywhere. We might find something in about…two or three months tops."

"I can't WAIT two or three months!" Drekkin shouted. "We're leaving now!" He started storming out.

"Wait!" Knigma said in a panic. He ran up to the walking wizard. "Where else are we supposed to go?"

"I don't know!" Drekkin shrieked. "But I'll have more luck wandering Hyrule Field than searching through this garbage!"

"Well fine then," Knigma said in a surly tone. "We'll just WANDER around aimlessly until we find something!"

"Now you're getting it," Drekkin said in a sarcastic voice.

Drekkin didn't stop for anything. Knigma just kept on following, occasionally looking back at the charred remains of Kakariko Village.

* * *

Sodo continued climbing the vines. He nearly forgot how difficult a climb this was. He saw that Somi was having just as much difficulty as him, but Mira, being used to the climb, was going just a bit faster. But when Sodo looked down, he saw that Nabooru was still down on the courtyard ground.

"Aren't you coming?" Sodo hollered down. He was already near the top of the wall.

"I'll be right there," Nabooru called up. "I'm just giving you three a bit of a head start."

Sodo just kept on climbing. Then, with all the strength he had left, he pulled himself over. When he got up, much to his amazement, Nabooru was already up there. Somi and Mira were just as amazed as Sodo.

"How'd you do that?" Somi asked.

"I'm just a little quicker," Nabooru smirked. "Let's just leave it at that."

Sodo looked further in front of him to see that Mido was now asleep near the door. Sodo had to admire Mido's persistence. He really cared about Saria and he didn't give up in trying to get her back. Sodo walked over and shook the tired Kokiri boss.

"Mido. Wake up."

Mido jumped at the sudden wake-up call. He looked around to see that Miso, Fala, and Ralo had already left and Mido was left alone.

"Where am I?" Mido asked. "Did I get that portal open?"

"I'm afraid not," Sodo frowned. "But I did get some help. Mido, this is the Spirit Sage, Nabooru."

Mido looked up at the beautiful Gerudo's face. "Wow! You're a lot different than I pictured."

"How'd you picture me?" Nabooru asked.

"Well, from the way Saria described you, she said you were beautiful," Mido clarified. "But since this was a Gerudo she was talking about, I didn't exactly buy it."

Nabooru scowled. "You have a big mouth, don't you?!"

"N-N-No," Mido stuttered. "That's not what I meant."

Nabooru guided Mido to the door that led to the well. "Look, boy. I'll need some concentration on this one. The only ones I need here are Somi and Mira, the two witnesses, and Sodo, the concerned boyfriend. IF I NEED A BIG MOUTH, I'LL CALL YOU!!" She pushed Mido into the door and slammed it. Sodo shrugged. It was still the same old Nabooru.

"Ok, girls," Nabooru began. "We're here. Now I need you to spill every detail. What were you doing when all this happened?"

It was Somi who took a deep breath. "Well, it started like this…"

  
Chapter 35  


It was a small room and it felt a bit cramped. Of course, it would be Link who would end up sleeping on the floor, but it didn't look like he'd be sleeping anytime soon. Princess Zelda, now without the hood but still wearing the Sheik disguise, was pacing back and forth.

"Ok, maybe I can believe that Ruto lives in the forest," the princess began. "Maybe I can believe that Darunia leads a band of thieves. Maybe I can believe that Malon is a revolutionary. Maybe I can believe that Knigma is a revolutionary. But this?! I can't believe this. Ganondorf owns the ranch! And I'm…A FARM GIRL?!"

Malon seemingly took offense to that. "What's wrong with being a farm girl? It's worked for me!"

Princess Zelda backed up, realizing what she implied. "I'm sorry, Malon. I didn't mean it like that. But…I'm a princess. I've always been royalty. I just never pictured myself as…a farm girl. It feels…weird. Didn't you have that kind of feeling when you saw yourself?"

Malon thought about that. "I guess so. I never pictured myself as a revolutionary. It gives me a whole new perspective on myself."

"See, that's what I'm doing," Princess Zelda said kindly. "I'm getting a whole different perspective on myself. I guess I can't complain about being a farm girl. But…Ganondorf? THAT I can't believe."

"Me either," Malon said angrily. "I mean…GANONDORF?! HE owns the ranch? MY ranch?"

"When I first thought of that 'evil one', I thought they meant Ganondorf," Saria said. "But I guess even Ganondorf can be good in this universe."

"It still doesn't make sense to me," Link said. "And frankly, it freaks me out. I'll feel better when we leave tomorrow morning." Just then, someone knocked at the door.

"Who is it?" Malon asked.

"It's me, Zelda," the voice behind the door called out. "Can I come in?"

Knowing the farm girl Zelda was behind the door, Princess Zelda quickly donned the hood once more to become Sheik. "Come in, Zelda."

The farm girl walked in with a pitcher of water. "I thought you might be thirsty." She looked at Sheik strangely. "Don't you ever take that hood off?"

"Uh…" Sheik stuttered. This was different. Back whenever Link faced Sheik, Sheik never hesitated like that. "Uh…I've got a condition. My…face…was horribly burned in an accident. I can't show it to anyone."

"Oh, how terrible," Zelda gasped. "I wasn't aware. In fact, I haven't really gotten to know any of you. It's so rare whenever we get visitors. Where were you headed?"

"We…were just heading out to the castle," Link answered. "We have some people to see."

"The castle?" Zelda asked curiously. "But haven't you heard? Hylians aren't allowed anywhere near the castle."

"Why not?" Saria asked.

"It goes all the way back to the war against the evil one. The one so evil, no good Hylian dare speak his name," Zelda explained. "When the evil one went on his rampage, he completely destroyed Kakariko Village and nearly took over all of Hyrule. And when he was stopped, the Hylians were banished from ever returning to Hyrule Castle Town."

"Why?" Sheik asked. "Wasn't that their home?"

"It was," Zelda answered. "But after it all happened, Hylians were no longer trusted and forced to go to Lake Hylia, where the Hylian Civil War has now been waged."

"And you've been living here at the ranch since then?" Malon asked.

"Not exactly," Zelda smiled. "Lon Lon Ranch has always been my home ever since I was a little girl. In fact, Ganondorf and I were the only ones here since the beginning. Later on, Hyunia, Jenz, Avaida, and Pofrigitio each made their homes here. I don't remember exactly how long they've lived here. But I don't really care much either. It's nice to have company around and we've all become a family."

"But you haven't been pressured to choose a side?" Link pointed out.

Zelda frowned. "Actually, we have. There have been letters, rocks, and even death threats all pressuring us to join either the Forsverers or the Frihads. That's why I didn't want Hyunia, Jenz, Avaida, and Pofrigitio to leave. I thought it was too dangerous. But I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Do you think the war will ever end?" Saria asked.

"I don't think so," Zelda answered grimly. "The two sides will kill each other before either one admits defeat. And the Kokiri nobles won't ever interject themselves. They're completely apathetic."

Saria's face lit up. "Kokiri nobles?"

"Yes, you mean you don't know?" Zelda asked strangely. "I can't believe you don't know. Hyrule's been run by the Kokiri for many years, practically forever. You must be living under a rock, if you don't know that the Kokiri rule Hyrule."

Saria was speechless. Her face was full of astonishment. Link could imagine what she must've been feeling. After years of discrimination and racism against the Kokiri in their old universe, the tables had turned in this one. Here, the Kokiri ruled and that completely left Saria in awe.

"But can you really risk going to Hyrule Castle?" Zelda continued. "What if you get caught? You'll be arrested."

"Don't worry about us," Link said confidently. "We won't get caught. Trust us."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck," Zelda said solemnly. "I guess I'll leave you all to get some sleep. Good night."

"Good night, Zelda," Sheik said. As she walked out, Sheik removed the hood to reveal Princess Zelda. "Well, what have we learned from this little conversation?"

"That this Zelda is a lot like you," Link answered.

"Well…besides that," Princess Zelda blushed. "I mean that getting into the castle won't be as easy as we thought."

"Don't worry about it," Link said cockily. "If anyone knows about sneaking into the castle, it's me."

"Excuse me?" Malon said skeptically. "But have you forgotten how many times you've been CAUGHT sneaking into the castle?"

"We won't get caught," Link smirked. "Trust me."

  
Chapter 36  


"And that's everything?" Nabooru asked.

Somi nodded. Sodo only sat and listened to the whole story. It was definitely tragic, but with Nabooru, he had some hope of finding her.

"So how do we get her back?" Mira asked.

"Well, I'm not really sure," Nabooru admitted. "I can try opening random portals until we find the right one." She positioned herself by the wall. "Ok, let's try this one."

She waved her arm to reveal a portal, but then something happened. Just then, a giant Stalfos knight leaped out and struck at Nabooru.

Sodo jumped back in a panic and so did Somi and Mira. This wasn't exactly what they had in mind. A Stalfos knight was not what they hoped to find.

Nabooru pushed the Stalfos off her and she quickly struck it with her sword. As the skeleton creature backed up, Nabooru kicked it back into the portal. After the Stalfos was back in, Nabooru closed the portal.

"O-Ok," Nabooru panted. "M-Maybe that wasn't such a bright idea."

"What happened?" Sodo asked.

"Wrong portal. Unfortunately, I didn't use common sense," Nabooru answered. "I failed to take into account that there could be millions of little dimensions out there. And if I open each one, it could be hazardous to our health. This is going to be tough. Saria could be anywhere. And finding the right dimension's only half the battle. We have to be able to pinpoint the exact place in that dimension where she might be. Needless to say, that's going to be a futile task."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Sodo pleaded.

"I can't think of much," Nabooru responded. "But we're going to have to try. Because if we don't find Saria, we could be in a lot more trouble than we think."

"What do you mean?" Sodo asked curiously.

"Kid, you remember that stupid rule that sages can't leave their temples?" Nabooru asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, after we disposed of Meyson and his army and I got back to the Spirit Temple, I got a call from Rauru," Nabooru explained. "The big cheese wasn't happy that I left the temple for so long and he was quick to remind me of the consequences for leaving."

"Consequences?" Somi asked.

Nabooru scratched the back of her head in thought. "Let's see…how do I explain this? Hmm, I got it. Let's say you have a chain. The purpose of a chain is to keep something locked and secure. The chain depends on each link to stay together. If even one link is out of place, the whole chain falls apart. And if the chain falls apart, then that one thing is no longer secured.

"Now the six sages are like a giant chain. Of course, we might last a little longer. We can leave the temple for a few minutes and our 'link' will stay just as strong. Of course, if a sage leaves their temple for too long, their link in the chain falls apart and the entire chain is broken. Now I left the Spirit Temple to join the fight against Meyson. And my link began growing weak. But when I got back and stayed at my temple for a few good months, my link started growing strong again until it was completely restored.

"Saria, on the other hand, is a whole different situation. She was kidnapped by Meyson for a long period of time, therefore her piece of the link grew weak. Stupid shape-shifter, if he were really smart, he'd have just kept her out of reach. Anyway, when she went back, her link was weak and by returning the link began to grow strong once again. But that wasn't the last time she left the temple, was it Sodo?"

Sodo remembered the incident two months ago. "It wasn't. We left the temple because we thought Link needed our help at the ranch. Turned out it was just a trick."

"Ok, but she still left," Nabooru continued. "And by leaving, her link began to grow weak again, almost to a critical point. And although she's been back for a little while, it wasn't enough to completely restore her link to full strength. Girls, how long has Saria been gone?"

"It's been a little more than a week," Somi answered.

"Oh, boy, this could be worse than I thought," Nabooru said grimly. "We could be in a lot of trouble."

"What do you mean, Nabooru?" Sodo asked. "What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that Saria's link may have reached a critical point again," Nabooru clarified. "And if we don't get her back soon, her link will break completely and the chain will break. Now think about it, Sodo. Chains are used for securing something. What is the one thing the chain, that is the six sages, has been trying to keep secure?"

Sodo shuddered at the answer. He understood everything now. "Y-You mean…?"

Nabooru nodded. "That's right. If we don't get Saria back, then the chain breaks and we get…Ganondorf."

Silence. The mood had turned completely grim. Sodo didn't realize there would be such repercussions for Saria being away from the temple. He now fully realized how important that stupid rule was.

"We have to get her back," Nabooru finally said. "But I don't know how we're going to do it, but we're going to have to...before it's too late."

  
Chapter 37  


The next day, Link was ready to pick up and leave Lon Lon Ranch. If he had his way, they would leave the ranch as fast as they arrived. He looked to see that Malon and Saria were both coming down the stairs. Princess Zelda, still donning her Sheik disguise, walked down soon after. Link turned to see Ganondorf and Zelda standing by the door.

"Are you sure you want to leave so soon?" Ganondorf asked.

"We really have to be going," Link said. He still didn't fully trust Ganondorf. After that whole quest to defeat him in his universe, he still couldn't understand how he was so…hospitable in this one.

They were all ready to leave and Sheik said the final farewell. "So long, Ganondorf. Goodbye, Zelda. We'll be sure to remember your hospitality."

"Will we ever see you again?" Zelda asked.

"I doubt it," Sheik answered. "But you never know. Fate works in mysterious ways."

That's what Link always admired about Sheik. Sheik's words were always so…deep. With those prophetic words, Link and his friends continued on towards Hyrule Castle.

* * *

Zelda waved the visitors goodbye. She wished they didn't have to leave so suddenly. She felt like she was just getting to know them better. Especially the one called Sheik. Zelda couldn't shake the feeling that she knew Sheik from somewhere…he sounded so familiar.

"Do you think we'll see them again?" Zelda asked Ganondorf.

"Only time will tell, child," Ganondorf said. "But I couldn't shake that there was something about those four. Something familiar…especially that mysterious Sheik fellow."

"You read my mind," Zelda said in shock. "I was just thinking the same thing."

No further words were uttered. Suddenly, a rock was thrown over the stable. Zelda and Ganondorf ran to pick it up. It had a note attached:

**"Choose a side…OR ELSE!"**

"It's another threat," Ganondorf said grimly. "I can't believe this."

"Well, at least it hasn't affected you," Zelda noted. "You're a Gerudo. I'm the one they want to choose a side."

"You aren't thinking of picking a side, are you?"

"I…don't know anymore," Zelda said in frustration. "I've had it with these threats. I don't know what I'm going to do anymore."

Zelda left in tears and ran up to her room. She honestly didn't know what to do. It was obvious that the Hylians weren't going to give up. Maybe she should make a choice…

  


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com.


	8. Part 8: Returning to Hyrule Castle...and...

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 38  


It was a long walk, but they finally made it. Link could see the drawbridge that led into Hyrule Castle. He and his friends made their way to the drawbridge, but noticed that it was being heavily guarded. But it wasn't the fact that it was being guarded that surprised Link, it's who was guarding it. It was none other than Kreature, Krash, and Og, the three Lizalfos collectively known as COMBAT.

"Can…you believe this?" was all Link could ask his friends behind him.

"Well, I wondered where these three were in this crazy universe," Zelda replied. She still donned her Sheik disguise, but had the hood off so her face was visible.

Link slowly walked up to the drawbridge and noticed that the three lizards were sound asleep. Link could hardly believe it, but shouldn't have been surprised. They were sleeping on the job.

They all tried sneaking past the sleeping reptiles, but Saria stepped on a twig, creating a loud crack. Kreature promptly woke up.

"Hold it right there!" Kreature shouted, pointing a sword at everyone. He then noticed his two colleagues were still sleeping. "Wake up, you two!" Kreature stomped his foot and Krash and Og woke up in a nervous sweat.

"Uh, uh, I wasn't asleep," Krash stuttered. "I was resting my eyes."

"I think I was asleep," Og said ignorantly. "But I may have just been resting everything else."

"Quiet, you two," Kreature snapped. "We got intruders."

"Hey, you're right," Krash noticed, now pointing his sword. "Maybe with this catch, we can get back on the general's good graces."

"You think he's forgotten about those two we let get through?" Og asked.

"He won't remember that if we bring him four prisoners," Kreature pointed out. He glared at Link and his party. "But I'm feeling generous. So you got two choices. You either turn around or we arrest you for trespassing."

Suddenly, Link had an idea. He only hoped that COMBAT was as dopey here as in his universe. "Well, I guess we'll have to turn around…Kreature, Krash, and Og."

The three lizards dropped their swords in shock.

"Hey, how'd you know who we were?" Krash asked.

"I know all about everyone," Link answered with a grin. "I'm a psychic."

"A psychic?" Kreature repeated.

"We never saw a real psychic before," Og marveled. "Are you one of those psychics that tells the future?"

"Oh, yes," Link said. "In fact, I can see your future right now."

"Really? What do you see?" Krash asked.

"I see you three lizards…" Link said slowly. "…Jumping off the drawbridge and into the moat."

"Are you sure?" Kreature asked skeptically.

"Sorry. That's what I see," Link confirmed.

"Well, who are we to argue with a psychic?" Og asked.

"If that's our future, I guess we know what has to be done," Krash added.

The three Lizalfos turned around and leapt into the moat. Link could hear Malon, Zelda, and Saria each trying to suppress their giggles.

"Well, the future has come to pass just as I foreseen it," Link hollered out below. "Of course, more of the future is being revealed to me. I see…me…and my friends…getting into the castle. Bye, guys."

As Link and his friends started making their way into Hyrule Castle Town, they could hear the three reptiles bickering amongst themselves.

"Wow! He was right again! How does he do that?" Og asked.

"You dope!" Kreature shouted. "Don't you get it? We've been had…again!"

"Uh, oh," Krash realized. "The general's not going to like this. We're in hot water as it is."

"I don't know," Og said. "This water feels pretty cold to me."

"Not that water, you goof!" Kreature clarified. "I mean we're going to be in a lot of trouble. Of course not as much trouble as those four are going to be in when the general finds out."

Link couldn't help but think about that last remark. Who was this general they were referring to? And was he really that dangerous? Then Link shook that thought off. No matter who the general was, he was still a Kokiri. How hard could it be to get past a Kokiri?

  
Chapter 39  


Link could hardly believe what he saw. Hyrule Castle Town was completely deserted. There was no one in any of the houses or shops. The city was completely abandoned.

"It feels eerie, having nobody on the streets or in the homes," Zelda noted.

"I don't know what use a town is without people," Link added.

They continued through the abandoned Hyrule City and reached the gate of Hyrule Castle. The gate was still closed. The only difference was that there were two Kokiri, clad in the armor of a castle guard (Link didn't even know they made armor of that size) standing by the gate.

"Should we go in the front door?" Saria asked.

"There's no fun in getting in through the front door," Link grinned.

Malon shook her head. "You better know what you're doing this time."

Link ran to the wall, while looking back at his three doubting friends. "I always know what I'm doing." Link leapt up to catch the usual vine on the wall…except there was no vine. Link just crashed into the wall. "WHERE'S THE VINE?!"

"No vine," Malon said. "Ok, Genius of Time. NOW how do we sneak in?"

"We COULD just go in through the gate," Saria suggested again.

"No way," Link shook his head. "I never go into Hyrule Castle the easy way. I always have to do it the hard way."

"Isn't the hard way usually the wrong way?" Malon smirked.

"Never mind that," Link frowned. "I WILL scale this wall with my trusty…" Link suddenly stopped. He realized that his hookshot was not left back in his universe, but it was busted from trying to fight the portal's gravitational pull. "My trusty…uh…hammer." Link pulled out his Megaton Hammer, something he nearly forgot he had after all these years. He hardly ever used it since it was so…HEAVY.

"Just what are you planning to do with that?" Malon asked doubtingly.

"Have you cracked?" Zelda added. "How is a hammer going to get us all the way up there?"

"Like this!" Link pounded into the wall, creating a tread, which they could use to climb. Link was getting confident. He pounded another tread…and another…and another…until he created one tread too many and a mountain of dirt collapsed on him. When Link stuck his head out of the dirt, he saw that the treads had collapsed as well.

"Well that was smart," Malon said cynically. "Any other bright ideas?"

"We can just go through the front gate," Saria suggested again.

"We can't go through the gate," Link said. "There are two guards in front of the gate. So we can't go through the gate."

"Link, the guards are gone," Saria responded.

Link raised himself out of the mound of dirt and glanced towards the front gate. It was true. The two Kokiri guards were now gone.

"As much as I hate to do this," Link conceded. "I guess we'll have to go the easy way."

They cautiously walked towards the gate and Link slowly pushed it open. With a newfound confidence, Link and his friends walked into the gate and into the castle. Unfortunately, that's when he felt something try and grab his wrist.

"What is it, Malon?" Link asked, feeling a bit annoyed.

"It wasn't me," Malon said.

"Saria?"

"Wasn't me either."

"Zelda?"

"I didn't do it."

"Then what was that?"

Just as soon as Link asked that question, he felt something grab his wrist again. He looked behind him to see that there was no one there. He now felt as if many hands were now restraining his arms. Link looked to see that the three girls seemed to be in the same predicament. The next thing Link saw was that there were now four ropes literally floating towards them. The ropes somehow managed to tie the four of them up. They were now unable to move.

"What is this?!" Link shouted.

"You've been caught, that's what it is, intruder!" an unseen, yet strangely familiar, voice said.

Suddenly, dozens of Kokiri magically appeared out of thin air. Link thought he was hallucinating. But they just…appeared. It was as if they were…invisible. Then one more appeared. He seemed to have the insignia of a Hylian general, but he also looked extremely familiar.

But it was Saria who recognized him first. "Dore?!"

"That's right," Dore said. "You have all been caught by the mighty General Dore! And you will all be going to the dungeon…!"

The four gasped.

"…At least, that's what I'd LIKE to do," Dore continued. "But after the incident with our last two prisoners, the other Kokiri want to hold a…ugh…fair trial. But after that, THEN I'll throw you into the dungeon."

"On what charge?!" Link demanded.

"Jeez, you sound like that other Hylian freak," Dore muttered. He cleared his throat. "You're under arrest for trespassing. But if the trial goes my way, you'll also be in for espionage."

"Espionage?!" Zelda asked angrily. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"SILENCE!!" Dore shouted. "Troops, take these two into the throne room. We'll have their trial there."

The dozens and dozens of Kokiri picked up Link, Saria, Malon, and Zelda and started pushing them towards the castle.

"I can't believe it," Saria mumbled. "Dore's a general, and a pretty mean one to boot."

"I can only wonder who the king is," Zelda added.

"We're not under a single monarchy," one of the Kokiri said. "That's something stupid Hylians would do."

"Yeah, we operate under a triumvirate system," another one added. "Three of our own run Hyrule and one of those three is General Dore."

"Dore's running Hyrule?!" Saria shouted in complete bewilderment.

Another Kokiri nodded. "Him and two others. Two others you're about to meet."

"I can hardly wait," Malon said dryly.

They were all caught and set to be put on trial, but Link knew this wasn't a total loss. Sure he was arrested by one of the rulers of Hyrule, who just happened to be Dore. But he looked at the bright side. At least he was getting into the castle.

  
Chapter 40  


Having failed miserably to find anything in the ashes of Kakariko Village, Knigma followed Knigma out of the charred village and into Hyrule Field. But all they did for hours was wander aimlessly.

"I'm getting tired, Drekkin," Knigma complained. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Shut up!" Drekkin snapped. "If I can't find Hylians in Hyrule City or Kakariko Village, then we'll ask someone else where they are. The best place to go is Zora's Domain. When we get there, we'll ask one of the Zoras where the Hylians are."

"I've got to admit, that's pretty…" Knigma stopped in mid-sentence. "Do…you hear something?"

Knigma and Drekkin stayed silent. Something was approaching them. It sounded like horses and the sound grew louder. Then a dozen horses made their appearance and started circling the former editor and the sorcerer. Knigma tried to see who was doing this, then he saw who was riding the horses. They were Gorons, but these didn't look like the dopey, gullible Gorons of his universe. They looked dangerous. The horses stopped and the Gorons leapt off. The biggest one stepped in front of the other ones. He looked to be their leader.

"You have two choices," the big Goron said. "You either die at our hands and we take your valuables or we take your valuables and THEN you die at our hands. What's it going to be?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Drekkin said, unshaken by the threat. "But I have nothing of value with me."

"What about your friend?"

"This one? I don't know if my associate holds anything of value," Drekkin replied.

"Does this mean what I think it means, big brother Darunia?" one of the other Gorons asked.

It hit Knigma now. The huge leader was Darunia. But that was impossible. In his universe, Darunia was the Fire Sage and certainly wasn't a thief. Of course, none of the other Gorons were thieves either.

"Indeed it does," Darunia responded. "Give this one a cavity search."

"CAVITY SEARCH?!" Knigma shouted in a panic. "NO! WAIT! I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING! STAY BACK! DREKKIN! HELP!!!!!!"

The Gorons each knocked Knigma down and began to search him thoroughly for any sign of valuables. But they found none. When they were through, all they had was a blue rupee and Knigma's shirt.

"Now why do you keep taking their shirts?" Darunia asked curiously. "We're Gorons, we don't need clothes." The other Goron handed Knigma back his shirt. "What else did you find?"

"We found this," another Goron said. He handed Darunia the blue rupee.

"FIVE RUPEES?!" Darunia shouted angrily. "All these headaches for FIVE RUPEES?!"

"Should we take them prisoner, big brother?" the Goron asked.

"Are you kidding?" Darunia said, still frustrated. "After what happened last time? I don't need these two cleverly escaping like the last four prisoners."

"Did you say FOUR prisoners?" Drekkin asked.

"We caught four the other day," Darunia answered. "They certainly were an unusual bunch. I'd never seen a boy with a Zora tunic before. Anyway, we took them prisoner and they escaped."

Suddenly, Knigma started chuckling. Four prisoners, including a boy in a tunic. It had to be them. Then a light bulb went off in the insane man's mind. This was perfect.

"You know, I think I can help you," Knigma finally said. "I know where those four went."

"You do?" Darunia asked.

"You do?" Drekkin then asked. "Excuse me one moment, Darunia."

"Ok, but don't try escaping! Escaping is a futile gesture."

Drekkin took Knigma a few steps back until they were alone. "What are you doing?! We don't know where those four are!"

"Drekkin, bear with me on this one," Knigma explained. "Four prisoners and a kid in a tunic. Or a kid in a dress?"

Drekkin suddenly realized it. "It's them. They were here. But what's your point? We don't know where they are."

"That doesn't matter," Knigma continued. "Watch a master manipulator at work and play along." They both walked back to the waiting Gorons.

Knigma cleared his throat. "That's right. I know where those four are. The last time I saw them, they were trying to find the home of the Happy Mask Shop owner, Yeddop. Do you know where that may be?"

"The Mask Shop in Lake Hylia?" Darunia asked. "They couldn't be headed there."

"Why not?" Knigma asked curiously.

"There's a big civil war going on in Lake Hylia between the Hylians," Darunia answered. "If they went there, they can stay there. The Gorons don't need to be getting in the crossfire. We'll just have to let those four go for now."

"If it makes you feel better, I have a feeling those four will get what's coming to them," Knigma grinned. "Now, if it's not too much trouble…could you maybe…let us slide just this once? I promise that next time you come rob us, we'll have a lot more."

"I guess we can let you go this time," Darunia said. "But don't tell anyone. We Gorons have a reputation of being ruthless and we want to uphold that reputation." He motioned to his band of thieves. "Back to Goron's Domain, men. We'll regroup and raid another day."

As the Gorons left, Knigma burst out in insane, hysterical laughter. "Man, I've still got it! I didn't think it was possible, but these Gorons are just as STUPID as the other ones."

"I've got to give you credit, Knigma," Drekkin conceded. "You certainly served your purpose back there. And now, without further delay, we go to Lake Hylia…and claim my MASK!"

Knigma turned around and groaned when he saw how far away Lake Hylia was. It would be days before they reached it. This could take forever. But Knigma couldn't help but wonder about that civil war Darunia was talking about. What was that all about? And how long would it be before Knigma and Drekkin found out?

  
Chapter 41  


The throne room looked the same. The only difference was that there were now dozens, maybe even hundreds, of Kokiri in attendance for this trial. Link and his three friends were held behind a wall, with only two small holes to look through. And Link had his eyes through the higher hole looking towards the throne. A large round table sat in front of the three thrones. And in that round table…sat each one of the Kokiri 12. Then someone else walked in, a Kokiri attired in the robe of king. Link immediately recognized who it was, though he shouldn't have been surprised.

But it was Saria who confirmed it. She saw him through the lower hole. "It's…Mido."

Mido sat on the center throne, while Dore fidgeted restlessly in his throne to Mido's left. There was only one throne empty. And Link had his suspicion as to who filled it.

But Mido began the trial early. "Ok, people, QUIET!"

Unlike the Kokiri meetings in Link's world, the Kokiri immediately grew silent. Saria was surprised at that also.

"Well, we're still missing one important person," Mido said pointing at the throne.

"Who cares?" Dore snapped. "She's never around anyway!"

The Kokiri 12 all shouted in agreement. Then the throne room door flew open. The shocked reaction on Link was only exceeded by the look of wonderment on the face of the Forest Sage next to him. Standing at the door…was Saria.

As Saria slowly walked towards the round table, Link couldn't believe how different she looked. She wore a large pink dress, much like the one he'd see Zelda wear occasionally. She looked just as innocent as ever, her face gleaming in the light. She still had a complete head of green hair, only now it had a tiara on top of it.

The Forest Sage Saria immediately recognized what that meant. "I'm…I'm…a…princess?"

The other Saria stopped at the foot of the round table and sat in her throne, to the right of Mido.

"Princess Saria, you're late again!" Mido chided. "What's your excuse this time?"

"I-I'm sorry, King Mido," Princess Saria said shyly. "I was just out in the castle courtyard again and I lost track of time."

Mido smiled. "Admiring the garden again?"

"Oh, yes," Princess Saria smiled. "I've always loved being out in the beauty of nature. I can't explain why, but I always have."

"Does anyone care about what she just said?!" Dore snapped.

"NO!!!!!!!!" the other Kokiri at the table shouted. Saria just flinched timidly.

"Well, I do suppose we have to get back on track," Mido admitted. "So where are the four trespassers you caught, General Dore?"

"I had them thrown behind the wall somewhere," Dore answered. "I figure it's better if we don't see their ugly faces."

"And what do you propose we do with them, loyal Kokiri cabinet?" Mido asked.

"Throw them in the dungeon!" Dila shouted.

"Have them executed!" Sofa called out.

"Hmm, execution doesn't sound like a bad idea," Dore smirked sinisterly. "Any suggestions as to how to execute them?"

"Chop their heads off!" the twins, Fala and Ralo, said in unison.

"Hang them! Burn them at the stake! Throw them in the lake!"

Link and Saria were a little confused when they saw who made the sudden outburst.

Dore shook his head. "Jeez, Mira. You talk too much. Can't you even stay quiet for five minutes?"

Link shook his head in bewilderment. In his world, Mira was always the recluse. This was so…different.

"But nonetheless, those are good suggestions," Dore continued.

"Just what did those intruders want, General Dore?" Mido asked.

"They said something about wanting to ask us to end the Hylian Civil War," Dore grinned.

At that, the entire Kokiri room burst out into laughter. Link didn't see what was so humorous about that.

Apparently, Princess Saria didn't either. "Why are you all laughing? Don't you think it IS time we do something about that civil war? We're supposed to be the leaders of Hyrule. We have to do something or the Hylians will all kill each other."

Dore scoffed. "Does anybody care what she thinks?!"

"NO!!!!!!!" the other Kokiri at the round table shouted.

"Why not?" Princess Saria asked. "Don't you think it's time to interject ourselves? We have to do SOMETHING."

"Are you stupid?" Mira asked perniciously.

"Or have you been in that stupid garden too long?" Somi added. "We could care less if the Hylians kill each other. In fact, we'd welcome it."

"After all the damage their evil one caused, you expect us to help them?" Miso demanded.

"They can rot for all we care," Rala said coldly. "And if you want to help them so bad, do it yourself!"

Princess Saria was almost in tears. "I just think…"

Dore cut her off. "Does anybody care what this Hylian lover thinks?!"

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Link saw Princess Saria slip back in her throne, trying to hold back her tears. He looked down and saw the Forest Sage Saria was nearly in tears as well.

"How could they treat her like that?" Saria asked sadly and rhetorically. "How could they treat ME like that? Why are they so cruel?"

Link just looked on sadly. These Kokiri were different. They definitely weren't the innocent children of his world. They were cold and apathetic dictators.

"So what's the ruling, General Dore?" Mido continued.

"We throw them in the dungeon for the next few days," Dore answered. "I shall personally interrogate them and if they're spies like I think they are, then we'll execute them."

"And if they're not?" Mido asked.

"Then we'll execute them anyway!" Dore said proudly. The Kokiri all stood and cheered as Link could only cringe.

"Well, then it's settled," Mido declared. "The prisoners are to be thrown in the dungeon and executed shortly thereafter. This trial is adjourned."

As the trial ended, Link looked back at Zelda and Malon.

"It's bad isn't it?" Malon asked.

"Oh yeah," Link answered.

Zelda, seeing the state Saria was in, tried to console her. "Saria, are you all right?"

"No," Saria answered tearfully. "It was so sad to see myself treated like that. And it was really sad to see all of my friends act so mean."

"It's sad that all 12 of them had to end up that way," Malon said.

"Actually…it wasn't all 12," Saria responded. "There were only 11. There was one missing."

"Who?"

"Sodo."

Link couldn't understand that. If the pattern was true, then Sodo should have been at the round table with the other Kokiri cabinet. Maybe he was just out in the crowd. Or maybe it was something worse.

But no matter what Saria's friends had become, one thing was for sure. All they could do now was wait until General Dore came in to take them to the dungeon.

  


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com.


	9. Part 9: Shocking revealations

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 42  


Link just sat there in the dungeon cell, waiting for General Dore to come in and interrogate them. Interrogate them about what, he had no idea. He looked to his right to see that Malon was just looking outside, Zelda was fixing her hair after all those hours of wearing the hood of Sheik, and Saria was sleeping. The poor forest girl was so hurt by what she saw, that she cried herself to sleep.

"Well, so much for this idea," Zelda finally said. "Now how do we stop the war?"

"I don't think there's any way this war CAN be stopped," Link said hopelessly. "Nobody seems to want to listen."

"A way out sure sounds good right about now," Malon said.

"Yeah, I'd love to be outside this dark dungeon right about now," Link agreed.

"No, I meant out of this stupid dimension," Malon clarified. "Has anybody forgotten that we don't belong here?"

Link thought about that. He had been so wrapped up in trying to end the Hylian Civil War, that he forgot he wasn't even supposed to be here. This wasn't where he belonged.

"I know we don't belong here, Malon," Link finally said. "I just thought we were put here for a purpose. And I thought that purpose was to end the war. Maybe when the war's over, whatever brought us here will bring us back."

"But there's no way to end the war," Malon frowned. "You said it yourself, nobody wants to listen."

"There has to be something we haven't tried," Link said. But it was no use. Link couldn't think of anything else to do. Appealing to the Kokiri was his last hope, but that seemed to fail miserably.

Suddenly, the door to the dungeon flew open. Standing there was General Dore.

"Ok, are we ready to begin the interrogation?"

  
Chapter 43  


Link stared a hole right into General Dore as he approached their cell, and he in turn stared one back into Link. Saria had woken up and walked to Link's side. Malon and Zelda were now standing behind them.

"Well, ask away!" Link snapped.

"Ok, now you claim that you came to Hyrule Castle to ask us to end the Hylian Civil War," Dore began. "But we know that's not why you're really here, is it?"

"Of course that's why we're here," Link responded. "We know you have the power to stop it."

"Oh, please," Dore said coldly. "You can't expect me to believe that. Everyone knows how much the Kokiri hate the Hylians. If we didn't hate them, we wouldn't have kicked them out of Hyrule Castle Town. Everybody knows that we'll always leave the Hylians high and dry, so don't give me that lame excuse."

"What lame excuse would you like me to give you?" Link asked smartly.

Dore pulled out a baton and swatted Link's hand. "Don't be cute! You know exactly why you're here! It's because you're here to free HIM, aren't you?!"

"Him?" Link repeated. "Who's him?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Dore shouted. "You know who HE is! And you're here to release him to unleash on our world again! Well, your plan failed!" 

"What plan?" Link said, getting frustrated. "We were just here to ask for an end to the civil war."

"Enough!" Dore shouted. "I won't allow you to release HIM! So tomorrow, you four will be executed!"

Suddenly, the dungeon door flew open…but there was no one there.

"Hmm…the wind," Dore muttered. "Where was I? Oh yeah! Enjoy your last hours in this world, for tomorrow you shall all be executed." Then General Dore stormed out of the dungeon.

But then an unseen, yet familiar, voice called out. "I thought he'd never leave."

Just then, much to all their amazement a Kokiri girl appeared out of thin air. But it was more than a Kokiri girl, it was Princess Saria. She walked towards the cell and observed the four prisoners. Then her eyes stuck on the Forest Sage Saria, and she gasped. Link saw why. The two girls looked exactly alike.

"You…look just like me," Princess Saria said. "Then…it's really true."

  
Chapter 44  


"What do you mean?" the Forest Sage Saria asked. "What's true?"

"I…had a dream. It was more of a prophecy," Princess Saria explained. "And in it, I saw four strangers…and one of them looked just like me." She looked up at the other three. "And the rest of them look like you. In my prophecy, I saw four strangers fall in from what looked like a portal."

Zelda's eyes widened. "You saw us come in through a portal?!"

Princess Saria nodded.

"Finally, somebody who can help us," Zelda said. She looked at the little princess. "At least I hope you can."

"I'd love to help you," Princess Saria said kindly. "But who are you?"

Zelda introduced herself. "My name is Zelda. The four of us came from another universe." It was clear that they were no longer traveling incognito.

"Another universe?" Princess Saria asked curiously. "Is that where the portal came from?"

The Forest Sage nodded. "We all come from a world just like this one, except there a lot of differences. In our world, Zelda's the Princess of Hyrule. And me? You probably know me. I'm Saria."

The Princess Saria still marveled at her parallel self. "You look so…different. Where are you from?"

The Forest Sage Saria smiled. "In my world, I'm the Sage of the Forest. And I live in the Forest Temple in the Lost Woods with my friends."

"You have friends?" Princess Saria asked. "You really have friends?"

The Forest Sage frowned. "What do you mean? Don't you have any friends?"

Princess Saria hung her head down. "Actually, no. I've always been nice to everyone and that includes anyone outside our boundaries. And that bothers a lot of the others. In fact, because of how I am, they're always mean to me. I've just always believed that we should use our power to help others, but nobody cares what I think. Nobody here likes me."

"That's so sad," the Forest Sage said. "You mean not one person has ever been nice to you."

"Well, sometimes there's Mido," Princess Saria answered. "But he gets so much pressure from everyone else, that he hardly ever talks to me anymore. But there was one…his name was Sodo."

The Forest Sage Saria's eyes widened. "Sodo? I didn't see him there. Where is he?"

Silence.

"I don't know," Princess Saria finally said. "He was the only other boy who believed in helping the world as much as I did. But when the Kokiri started becoming more and more apathetic, Sodo threatened to leave. Since nobody cared, Sodo just disappeared one day. Nobody's seen him ever since."

Silence.

"That's so sad," Malon said. "I know in our world, Saria and Sodo are almost inseparable…oh, I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Malon."

"Nice to meet you, Malon," Princess Saria said a little more cheerfully. "I thought I heard of a Malon somewhere."

"You must mean that Frihad radical leader," Malon clarified. "I'm nothing like that in our world. I've just been a normal farm girl living in Lon Lon Ranch."

Princess Saria then looked up at Link. "And who might you be?"

"Just a friend," Link said modestly. "My name is Link."

At those words, something went off in Princess Saria. She gasped and quickly stepped back. She almost stumbled over in utter fear.

Link didn't understand this. "W-Was it something I said?"

"You aren't going to hurt me, are you?" Princess Saria asked. She was absolutely petrified. "Please don't hurt me. I'm just a princess, please don't kill me."

"What's wrong?" Link asked. "What did I do?"

"He's not going to hurt you," the Forest Sage Saria tried saying. "Link's our friend."

"F-Friend?" Princess Saria asked. She tried to pick herself up and cautiously approached Link. "You…really aren't going to hurt me, are you?"

"Of course not," Link answered. "Why are you so afraid of me?" 

Princess Saria took a deep breath. "A few years ago, a great evil was unleashed in our world. He nearly destroyed everything and almost took over Hyrule. He was of Hylian heritage and was raised by the Hylians. That's why the rest of the Kokiri refuse to involve themselves in any matter involving the Hylians. He was so evil, that no one dare speak his name.

"His name…was Link, the Villain of Time."

  
Chapter 45  


Link felt like he had to lie down. He felt completely woozy after what he was just told. The evil one that everyone told him about. This evil one that destroyed Kakariko Village and nearly took over all of Hyrule, this evil one…was Link.

"I-I'm sorry," Link said. "But did…did you say 'Villain of Time'?"

Princess Saria nodded. "I'm sorry if I was a little edgy, but everybody in Hyrule fears the Villain of Time. Even with our powers, the Kokiri wouldn't last five minutes against such an evil."

"How did you get those powers?" the Forest Sage Saria asked curiously. "None of the Kokiri in my world can turn invisible."

"Really? It just comes natural to us," the Princess Saria answered. "No one can explain it, but somehow all Kokiri are born with the gift of invisibility. It's a wonderful gift, it really is. But Dore and his army have only used our invisibility to get the drop on people and assert our power. If we could all use it more wisely, maybe we could end the civil war. But nobody cares."

"Princess Saria, can I ask you something?" Zelda asked.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Do you know how we can get back to our world?"

Princess Saria frowned. "I'm sorry. Of everything I saw in my prophecy, I didn't see how I could get you back. I didn't even see how you all got here."

"Can you tell us everything you saw?" Link asked.

Princess Saria took a deep breath. "I saw…myself. I was out somewhere outside of Zora Forest. And then I saw a giant portal open up. And out of the portal…fell you four. Then when I turned around, I was outside of Hyrule Castle. Then…I saw another portal open up and out of that portal fell two other men."

"You saw two other men come out?" Zelda asked curiously. "That might mean we aren't here alone. Princess Saria, what did they look like?"

Princess Saria took another deep breath. "One of them…I didn't get a good look at him. He had a head of black hair and looked to be in his twenties. The other one looked very mysterious. He was completely covered in a shawl and all I could see were his eyes. He looked like a wizard."

Zelda gasped. "Drekkin! And Knigma! They're here too!"

Link grew confused. "So those two creeps are here too?! How did THEY get here?"

"I'm guessing the same way we got here," Malon tried answering.

"What else did you see, Princess Saria?" the Forest Sage Saria asked.

"I…saw those two men…and a mask. I…couldn't make out what the mask looked like. But then I found myself in Kakariko Village. And I looked up…and I saw Link, the Villain of Time. He came close to me and I saw right into his face. It looked…completely evil…there was something different about it. Then…he was gone. I looked around and I saw I was in a cave. I peered outside to see the Sacred Forest Meadow in the Lost Woods. And I turned around…and saw Sodo. He told me…to be strong…that he was alive…and he had all the answers. Then the prophecy ended."

Link tried to absorb everything he just heard, even though he still couldn't shake off the shock of being this world's Villain of Time. But what did this all mean? Why were Drekkin and Knigma taken in by the portal? Why were they here? What was that mask Princess Saria was talking about? And what did Sodo have to do with any of this? Then Link got an idea. An idea he should have had a long time ago.

"Zelda?" Link asked. "Do you have the Ocarina of Time?"

Zelda shook her head. "No. It's back at the castle…MY castle."

Princess Saria's face brightened. "You mean this?" Out of her dress, Princess Saria pulled out the Ocarina of Time. They caught a big break, for the mystical instrument existed in this world too.

"That's the one!" Zelda said cheerfully. She glanced at Link. "What do you have in mind?"

"I think I've pinpointed the place Princess Saria saw in her prophecy," Link explained. "She was in a cave, looking outside to see the Sacred Forest Meadow. She was in the center of the Sacred Forest Meadow. I know where that cave is. And if Sodo knows the answers like that prophecy said, then we'd better go find him. And now, we'll be able to take a shortcut."

"A shortcut?" Princess Saria asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Zelda grinned. "I guess that's one thing we have that you don't."

"What do you mean?"

"The Ocarina of Time can be used to transport us to different places in Hyrule," Zelda clarified. "And one of those places is the Lost Woods."

Link smiled at the little princess. "Thank you for everything, Princess Saria. You've made everything so much clearer for us."

"Wait!" Princess Saria pleaded. "Can't I please go with you?"

"Why would you want to go with us?" the Forest Sage Saria asked.

"Please, let me help you," Princess Saria continued. "I've been so voiceless here for so long, but I want to change that right now. I'm going to do what all of the other Kokiri should be doing and that's doing what's best for Hyrule."

Saria looked up at Link. "Link, can't she come with us?"

Link was about to speak against it, before Malon answered for him.

"Sure. You can come, Princess Saria."

Link groaned. "Malon, can I see you over here?" Link brought Malon to a corner of the cell. "Why do you always do this? This could be dangerous, especially if Drekkin and Knigma are out there somewhere. She can't come."

"Yeah, and why not?"

Link turned to see that Zelda was standing right behind him.

"Zelda, she can't come with us. It's too dangerous…"

"…For a defenseless princess, right Link?" Zelda finished for him.

Link saw where she was going with this. "Zelda, that's not what I meant."

"Maybe I'm not a little Kokiri girl," Zelda continued. "And maybe I'm not the princess in this universe, but I can relate to what this Saria's going through. She wants to risk herself for the sake of her kingdom. Frankly, if I were in her shoes, I'd do the exact same thing, and I'd hate it if some overprotective pig like you were trying to stop me!"

Link had a hard enough time arguing one-on-one, he couldn't win an argument against both Malon and Zelda. "Fine, she can come with us!"

Link walked to the center of the cell and saw the Forest Sage Saria and Princess Saria standing side by side. It was a strange sight. They really DID look alike.

"Are we ready?" Zelda asked. As they all nodded, she proceeded to play the Minuet of Forest. And when the song was over, they were all transported. Obviously, the rules of the Ocarina of Time still applied to this universe.

  
Chapter 46  


At first he thought he was dreaming, but Knigma rubbed his eyes and what he saw was indeed real. It was Lake Hylia, but literally hundreds of Hylian homes were set up above the surface of the lake. As much as he was relieved that they narrowed down the Mask Shop owner's whereabouts, they still weren't through by a long shot. Especially since there wasn't a boat anywhere in sight.

"Well this is just great," Knigma said, showing signs of frustration. "This could take us forever!"

"Will you relax?" Drekkin groaned. "We've come this far, we're not quitting now. Or are you afraid of getting wet?"

"I didn't sign on for a swim session," Knigma growled. "But apparently, I'm not going home until I do, so let's get started."

Knigma and Drekkin dove in and began swimming to the first place. It looked to be a huge shop. Knigma recognized it as the bazaar. They surfaced out of the water and walked in, but were quickly stopped by a huge man wielding a bow and arrow.

"Hold it!" the bulky man shouted.

"Whoa! Don't shoot!" Knigma shouted.

The burly man examined the two intruders and put his bow down. "Knigma? Gee, I'm sorry, Knigma. I didn't recognize you."

Knigma was confused. Somehow, this guy knew him. So he figured he'd play along. "Uh…you should be sorry. Why you realize what you could have just done here? You could have killed me and my friend here."

"My apologies, Knigma," the bazaar owner said. "I wouldn't have wanted to accidentally knock of the leader of the Forsverers. But what brings you here? And who's your friend?"

Forsverers? Knigma didn't know what he was talking about, but he played along anyway. "Yeah, you definitely don't want to kill the leader of the Forsverers. I've come to ask a favor of you, sir. My friend, here, wishes to find the Happy Mask Shop. I was wondering if you could point it out for us. We need to speak with the owner, Yeddop."

"The Happy Mask Shop?" the man repeated. He pointed out east. "Sure, it's the second to last one down that direction."

"Thanks. We owe you, buddy."

"But Yeddop's not there."

Knigma was ready to explode. He was almost shaking in frustration. "He's not there. Then where is he?"

"He left town for a few days, hoping the civil war would calm down," the big man answered. "Fat chance of that happening. But he should be back tomorrow. He won't be too happy that the war isn't over. Maybe it'll get him to finally choose a side."

Knigma's curiosity finally overtook him. "Look here, buddy. My friend's new in town. Could you tell him just what we're fighting?"

"But you're the leader, Knigma," the man said confusedly. "Wouldn't it be better if you told him?"

"Yeah, but I just want to make sure YOU know," Knigma said in his charismatic way. "Call it a test."

"Uh, ok," the big man began. "We're fighting those loser Frihads because they're the ones who took in that Hylian kid who eventually unleashed his evil on all of us. And we're going to kick them out as a punishment for refusing to listen."

"He may be a little confused," Knigma interrupted. "Just who's the Hylian kid you're talking about?"

"But…his name is so evil, it cannot be spoken in these parts," the large man said.

"Well make an exception," Knigma said. "Just this once, for informational purposes."

The big man took a deep breath. "He is Link, the Villain of Time. His evil was like no other."

Knigma grinned. "Thank you, sir. I'll be sure to remember you."

Having said that, Drekkin and Knigma dove into the lake to swim to the Happy Mask Shop. He couldn't believe what the bazaar owner told him. That kid in the dress was evil in this universe? What could be weirder than that? Next thing, someone will tell him that Princess Zelda is a farm girl. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that the search for the Happy Mask Shop was over. Now all that was left, was to wait for Yeddop to come back.

  
Chapter 47  


She was all set to go. After all the threats and rocks, Zelda had had enough. The farm girl couldn't bear this any longer. The warring Hylians wanted her to choose a side, so she would. The only thing was, she didn't know which side to choose.

She tiptoed down the stairs, as to not wake up Ganondorf. Pofrigitio, Hyunia, Jenz, and Avaida who had just returned from their trip to the desert and were already asleep. Maybe if Zelda just picked a side, the Hylians would stop harassing everyone at the ranch. At least that's what she hoped.

As she left the ranch, she looked back. It might be the last time she saw the ranch. For now, Zelda would be involved in a war she doesn't want to fight.

  


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com


	10. Part 10: Finding answers

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 48  


After they were transported, Link looked around and saw the ever-familiar Sacred Forest Meadow. But it seemed that the Forest Sage Saria recognized it even more. She walked over to the tree stump in the middle.

"Ah, my favorite place," the Forest Sage Saria told her parallel self. "I always used to love playing my ocarina here."

Princess Saria looked around and seemed to marvel over what she saw. "This place…is so beautiful. The forest, the plants, the trees…it's just so lovely."

"And of course, it's not the only part of the forest," the Forest Sage added. "I always loved living here."

"Can you tell me about it, Saria?" Princess Saria asked. "I always wanted to know what life was like in the forest."

"I'll tell you on the way," the Forest Sage smiled.

* * *

Hearing a lot of Saria's experiences in the forest brought back memories for Link. But he could see the excitement in the eyes of Princess Saria. She was literally hanging on every word. The Forest Sage Saria had lived in the forest her entire life. She had been so familiar with the forest and her experiences that she managed to time her last story to end just as they reached the cave. It was just as Princess Saria had seen in her prophecy. The cave was high above the forest maze wall and peered out into the Sacred Forest Meadow.

Link tried to figure out how he would get up there without his hookshot. Then he pulled out his Megaton Hammer.

Malon shook her head. "Link, you're not trying that again, are you? Remember what happened last time?"

Link shrugged. "I'll get it this time. It's because last time I didn't know what I was doing."

"I thought you always knew what you were doing," Malon smirked.

"Never mind," Link groaned. He took the hammer and started pounding treads into the wall. But this time, Link knew when to stop. "Ok, I got it this time. But I'll climb first, just to make sure."

Link tried climbing the treads he made and they seemed to be working well. But just as he reached the last tread, the whole dirt wall collapsed and Link fell on his back. He tried to scream, but a mountain of dirt fell right on top of him.

"Third time's the charm, right Link?" Malon giggled.

Link spit out some dirt. "I think I remember why I haven't used this stupid hammer in six years. Anybody else have an idea?"

"Maybe I could try this," Zelda suggested. She closed her eyes and mentally lifted Link up to the cave. She did the same with Malon, the Forest Sage Saria, and Princess Saria. Then she found a problem. "Now how do I get myself up there?"

Before anyone could answer her question, Zelda found herself being lifted up to the cave. Link looked to his left to see that it was Princess Saria who was lifting her up there.

"Wow!" the Forest Sage Saria exclaimed. "How'd you do that?"

"I think I know," Zelda tried answering. "We're both princesses of Hyrule, so it would only make sense that you have the same telepathic power I do, wouldn't it Princess Saria?"

Princess Saria blushed. "I guess so. It's just another little thing I forgot to mention."

They started making their way through the dark cave. Link kept on walking through the cave, until he felt something restrain his wrist. Having felt this before, Link suspected it was an invisible Kokiri. So Link reached back and suddenly had the Kokiri in his grasp, despite the invisibility.

"I know who you are," Link said. "Just hold still, I want to help…!"

****THUMP****

Link didn't finish. In mid-sentence, Link felt a huge rock strike him on the back of the head. Link just fell and slipped into unconsciousness.

  
Chapter 49  


It was a long nap, but Link finally woke up. The first thing he noticed was the sharp pain in his head. Then he looked to see that he was lying down on the ground. He wasn't tied up. He looked around to see that Zelda, Malon, the Forest Sage Saria, and Princess Saria were waiting for him to wake up. He also noticed two other figures. One of them was Sodo, the peaceful Kokiri boy. The other was a Hylian woman in a white dress and long red hair.

Link could only ask one question. "What hit me?"

The Hylian woman stood up. "I'm sorry I had to do that. But I thought you were trying to hurt Sodo. I mean, we don't get many strangers around here."

"We haven't had ANY strangers around here," Sodo added.

"Well, anyway…I'm sorry," the woman continued. "Can you forgive me?"

"I guess so," Link nodded painfully. "But who are you?"

"Oh yes, I haven't introduced myself," the woman said bashfully. "My name is Amanecera."

The name didn't ring a bell for Link, but the Forest Sage Saria seemed to recognize her.

"Amanecera?" she repeated. "Oh my God. You've…grown up."

"You know me?" Amanecera asked. "I...don't think I know you."

"Maybe I can clear this up," Princess Saria said. "Amanecera, Sodo, these four are from another universe. One that's just like ours."

"Another universe?" Sodo asked. "Does that mean what I think it means, Ama?"

Amanecera nodded. "Indeed it does. It must you four the prophecy was referring to."

"You guys know about the prophecy?" Princess Saria asked.

"Of course we do," Sodo smiled. "After all, didn't the prophecy say we had all the answers?"

"You DO know about it," Princess Saria said. "But what is it you have the answers to?"

"We know of the situation involving the two other men in from the parallel universe," Ama answered. "And we know why they're here."

"How do you know that?" Link asked.

"I…saw the exact same prophecy as the princess," Ama explained. "I saw everything, which included your arrival, the arrival of the other two, and the reenacting of the destruction of Kakariko Village. But more than that, I understand what it means."

"You do?" Zelda asked. "Tell us, please."

"The two men who came in through the portal were standing by a mask," Ama began. "Were they not, Princess Saria?"

Princess Saria nodded. "They were right by a mask. But I didn't get a good look at the mask."

"You probably did, but you didn't know what it was," Ama continued. "I, on the other hand, know what that mask is. It's an ancient mask that has been known for its evil aura. It's called the Mask of Majora."

A bell rang in the head of Link. "Did you say the Mask of Majora?"

"You know about it?" Sodo asked.

Link nodded.

"Link, you never told me about an evil Mask of Majora," Malon called out.

"It's not exactly something I cared to remember," Link responded.

"Can you tell us a little more about it?" Zelda asked.

"I guess I can try and remember," Link said.

  
Chapter 50  


He didn't want to think of those days again. For one thing, they were too…weird. His days in the world of Talmina were too much to remember because the repetitiveness simply drove him crazy. But more than that, he didn't want to think of that mask again.

"It was a few days after I had defeated Ganondorf," Link began. "I went into the Lost Woods with Epona, but I was knocked off. The next thing I saw was a Skull Kid. His name was…Skullkid. He stole Epona and went into some portal. I followed him in and I was in some weird world called Talmina. It had a huge clock in the middle and there was a giant moon heading towards the ground. Apparently, it was Skullkid who was sending the moon crashing down. And obviously, I had to stop him. But he wasn't an ordinary Skull Kid. He wore a mask, the Mask of Majora, and it gave him special powers. One of them was the power to bring down the moon. But everything else it gave him, he used to nearly kill me.

"As young as I was, I still got the best of him. But it wasn't over. I found out that Skullkid wasn't the one with the malicious intent. It was the Mask of Majora itself. When the mask was off, it went after me. After a long and arduous battle, I finally subdued it and gave it back to its rightful owner, the owner of the Happy Mask Shop, Yeddop."

"So the mask is evil?" the Forest Sage Saria asked.

"Indeed it is," Ama answered. "And it is the mask that those two other men seek."

Zelda saw the urgency in this. "If the mask could turn an innocent Skull Kid into a tool of evil, imagine it would do for two psychos like Drekkin and Knigma."

"It would be Moonfall all over again," Ama said. "And our world doesn't need to endure that again."*****

"But we don't know where they are," Link said.

"No, but we know where the mask shop owner is," Ama replied. "He resides somewhere in Lake Hylia."

Link got to his feet and started walking out. "Then we should get going."

"Wait! We're coming with you," Ama suddenly said.

Link stopped in his tracks. "No! We can't risk your lives like this. It could get too dangerous."

"I'm sorry, Link. But Sodo and I have to go," Ama said. "We have something that might put an end to the Hylian Civil War once and for all."

Princess Saria's face brightened. "You do?"

"Didn't we say we had all the answers?" Amanecera smiled.

This didn't seem like a good cause for Link to argue over. If they could end the civil war, then he was all for it. "In that case, we'd be honored if you come with us."

They all headed out of the cave, and were ready to head back to Lake Hylia. Yes, they were still banished, but that didn't matter. A great evil was about to emerge if they didn't get there in time. Zelda took out the Ocarina of Time and began playing the Serenade of Water.

  
Chapter 51  


"Knigma! Wake up!"

Knigma woke up from his sleep behind the bush, near the Happy Mask Shop. "This better be good, Drekkin. That was the best night's sleep I had since…"

"Quit complaining!" Drekkin snapped. "Look who's here."

Knigma looked up past the bush to see that Yeddop, the Happy Mask Shop owner, had finally arrived. He walked up to his door, unlocked it, and walked in. The opportunity couldn't get any better.

"Should we invite ourselves in?" Knigma grinned.

Drekkin chuckled. "Let's go in and claim my mask."

They walked in and saw Yeddop setting up shop in his shelves. Knigma decided to acknowledge their presence.

"Hello there!"

Yeddop turned around. "Ooh, customers. I didn't expect to get customers so soon after my return. So what can I help you with?"

"Uh…I don't know," Knigma said slowly. "Can you show me something…in…say…a mask?"

"Hmm, I have plenty of masks," Yeddop said. "Did you have a specific mask in mind?"

Knigma didn't want to attract suspicion. "Just…show me everything."

And he did. For the next hour, Yeddop showed Drekkin and Knigma nearly every single mask he had. He showed them Keaton masks, Goron masks, Zora masks, Zombie masks, Deku Scrub masks, Skull Kid masks, bunny masks, Gerudo masks, Moblin masks, Skulltula masks, horse masks, Dodongo masks, Poe masks, Lizalfos masks, Gibdo masks, Gohma masks, and Stalfos masks. But no Majora's Mask.

"Are you sure that's everything?" Knigma asked weakly.

"That's my whole inventory," Yeddop answered.

Drekkin nudged Knigma and pointed to the right. That's where Knigma saw it.

"What about THAT MASK?" Knigma pointed to a corner with a mask behind glass. It seemed to be covered in iron bars as well and was padlocked. It was the Mask of Majora.

Yeddop gasped. "N-N-No. T-T-That mask…isn't for sale! It can't go beyond that glass."

"I'm sorry, Yeddop," Drekkin growled. "But I WILL be taking that mask."

"N-N-NO!" Yeddop shouted. "You mustn't take it. I won't let you take it."

"I'm afraid you have no say in the matter," Drekkin said menacingly. He threw a ball of light towards Yeddop. After the blinding light faded, Knigma opened his eyes to see that Yeddop was now tied up. Drekkin unleashed his magic towards the security case. The padlock shattered and the iron bars melted. Drekkin punched through the glass and took the mask.

"The Mask of Majora!" Drekkin shouted ominously. "It's MINE!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Knigma shouted excitedly. "Put it on, put it on!"

"NO!" Drekkin snapped. "I don't know what it is, but I sense that our enemies will soon arrive. And I want them to witness the big moment."

"Ok, but where do we go until then?" Knigma asked.

"We wait for them…at the bazaar." Drekkin said menacingly.

With the Mask of Majora now in his hands, the Happy Mask Shop filled with Drekkin's evil laughter.

  
Chapter 52  


It was getting hopeless. It had been days and Nabooru tried everything. But nothing worked and she was getting ready to tear her hair out. Nothing she could think of would get that portal open. She had to do something, or else the Forest Link would be broken and Ganondorf would be unleashed on the world once more. She was ready to kick herself. She was supposed to be a sage and she couldn't even do something this simple. Then she had an idea.

She looked at Somi and Mira, who hadn't slept through this entire ordeal. "Girls, maybe there's something else you can tell me. What did that portal look like?"

Somi thought about that. "I…can't remember."

"Come on, girls," Sodo pleaded. "You have to try." Likewise, Sodo hadn't slept either. Nabooru had to admire that the three Kokiri were willing to endure 24 workdays to get Saria back. It showed just how strong their friendship was.

"I-I think I remember something…" Mira began. "I remember it was really big."

"How big was it?" Nabooru asked.

"It…it went from about the floor and all the way up to the ceiling," Mira continued. "And it reached from wall to wall. And it was surrounded by lightning."

"And there wasn't a cloud in the sky," Somi chimed in. "It was lightning on a sunny day."

"Lightning on a sunny day," Nabooru repeated. She may finally be getting somewhere. "What else do you remember about it? What did the inside look like?"

Somi thought about that. "There were weird rocks floating inside a brown limbo. And I think I could see to the other side."

"Me, too," Mira added. "I could have sworn I saw to the other side too."

"That's great, girls," Nabooru said cheerfully. "What did it look like?"

Silence.

Sodo tried encouraging them. "Come on, girls. Concentrate."

Silence.

"I thought…I saw…the tunnel into the forest…" Somi finally said.

"It looked familiar, but then it hit us," Mira added. "We passed by there when we were taken from the village. It was the tunnel into the forest…but the bridge was intact. It wasn't burned down like the last time we saw it."

Nabooru thought about this. "Ok, let me recap here. It was a big portal that went up from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. It was surrounded by lightning on a sunny day. It looked like a brown limbo with a bunch of rocks floating around it. And the other side looked like this world…except for a bridge."

"What are you thinking about, Nabooru?" Sodo asked curiously.

"I…I remember being told that some portals have certain traits," Nabooru explained. "And those certain traits could be used to determine where the portal was going. If I can only find the connection, I can find out which dimension to open."

"Do you know?" Somi asked.

"It'll…take me a while," Nabooru answered. "But it'll come to me. Meanwhile, I need a favor."

"What's that?" Sodo asked.

"Get me the Forest Medallion," Nabooru responded. "I'm going to need it."

As Sodo ran out, Nabooru dropped to one knee and thought hard. She wasn't an expert on portals or other dimensions, but if she could only remembered the little bit she learned. She had to. She had to try, in order to avert the reappearance of Ganondorf and certain doom. Now it wasn't just Saria, but all of Hyrule was now in the hands of Nabooru.

  
Chapter 53  


General Dore looked everywhere, but it was no use. The prisoners had escaped. And the general had his suspicions. He had heard that Princess Saria had been seen heading to the dungeon to see the four prisoners. He didn't know how, but he knew this would happen.

"And you're sure you didn't see them anywhere?!"

Dore was now interrogating the two castle guards who patrolled the castle gate. Surely the four prisoners must have passed there.

"No, sir," one of them said. "We didn't see them at all."

Dore was fuming. "That's it! Bring me Princess Saria! She has much to answer for!"

"Um, General Dore, sir," the other guard called nervously.

"WHAT?!?!"

"Um, nobody's seen Princess Saria all day," the guard said. "She's disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Dore wondered. He had a better suggestion. "No…she hasn't disappeared. She was kidnapped! Those four kidnapped her! Undoubtedly, they want their revenge for our removing the Hylians from the city. So they've decided to take Princess Saria captive. Well, we'll fix that. You two!"

"Yes, sir, General Dore?"

"Get the army!" Dore shouted. "The WHOLE army! We're going hunting for Hylians!"

"Yes, sir," one of the guards said. "But where are you going to find them, sir?"

"The only place Hylians go," Dore said ominously. "Lake Hylia!"

* * *

This was the first time Zelda was ever this far away from the ranch. And it was the first time she had seen Lake Hylia since the Hylians moved in. She thought long and hard about what she would do. But first, she needed a place to stay. She looked ahead and saw the famed Hotel Hylia, run by Talon and Ingo. The farm girl decided to go check in there the next morning and decide what action she would take tomorrow.

But first, she decided to just sit out and watch the stars.

* * *

It was very late. So late, that dawn would come in a few hours. She was ready to turn in, but something that night caught Malon's attention. The leader of the Frihads looked outside to see that there were two figures swimming out towards the bazaar. She didn't recognize the one holding a mask, but she definitely recognized the other one. It was Knigma. He looked a bit different, but she recognized the face of the leader of the Forsverers. The one who accompanied him looked like he was some kind of sorcerer.

Malon grew suspicious. If Knigma managed to recruit a sorcerer to the Forsverer cause, then there could be a lot of trouble. The whole tide of the war could change in favor of the Forsverers. She figured she should find out. She grabbed a bow and headed outside. Maybe she couldn't touch Knigma based on the immunity agreement, but if worse came to worse, she certainly wasn't past eliminating a wizard.

She ran out and dove into the lake to start following the two. She could have easily used the boat, but she was in a hurry. They seemed to be headed towards the bazaar.

* * *

The sun was set to rise in a few hours, and Knigma was ready to finally get some sleep. But suddenly, the leader of the Forsverers looked outside. He couldn't believe who he saw. It was the leader of the Frihads, Malon. She had a bow in her hand and seemed to be swimming towards the bazaar. Then a realization hit Knigma. Malon was going to try and kill Zacchuee. He couldn't let that happen. The Frihads had already cost him so much, since before the war even started. And Knigma wouldn't stand by while another of his friends was killed.

Knigma went to the back and grabbed his bow and was heading out.

One of the guards sat up, having woken up. "Knigma? Where are you going?"

"To put an end to this," Knigma responded. "Even if it means breaking the agreement."

Knigma ran outside and dove into the lake. He could have used the boat, but this was urgent. He started swimming towards the bazaar. Yes, there was an immunity agreement still on, but Knigma didn't care. He wouldn't let Malon kill Zacchuee.

* * *

After the Serenade of Water was played, Link and his entire party were transported under a huge tree in Lake Hylia. Link could see all the houses, still floating on the lake above the wooden platforms. But he couldn't see Knigma or Drekkin. But he DID see the Happy Mask Shop. He, Malon, Zelda, the Forest Sage Saria, and Princess Saria were all headed there. But strangely, Sodo and Amanecera stopped.

"Aren't you coming?" Link asked.

"We have to go somewhere else," Amanecera replied. "We know how to stop the war once and for all. You guys find those two other guys and stop them from using the mask."

Amanecera and Sodo dove in and swam the opposite direction. Link and the others swam towards the Happy Mask Shop. Link ran in while everyone else dried off. He immediately noticed that Yeddop, the owner, was tied up. This couldn't be a good sign. He went and untied him.

"Yeddop, are you all right?" Link asked.

"No!" the mask owner said grimly. "They've taken it."

Link gulped. "Taken what?"

"The Mask of Majora!" Yeddop answered. "They've taken the Mask of Majora."

That was the worst news Link could have heard. They had it. They had the mask, and that was bad news.

"Yeddop, do you know where they took it?" Link asked.

"T-They said they were going to the bazaar," Yeddop answered.

"Then that's where I'm going," Link said quickly. "Are you coming?"

"Yes," Yeddop said. "I must go get my mask back."

Link led Yeddop outside. Of course, before leaving, he would have to break the news to the others.

  


*—Moonfall refers to the story Moonfall, by Post Rapture, which has yet to be finished and IS subject to change.

  


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com


	11. Part 11: Confronting Drekkin...and Major...

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who's read or reviewed my previous works. Also, a special thanks to Post Rapture (thanks for the help), Kokiri Tales 4, Moonfall, and the highly anticipated Majora's Mask, which have each inspired me to begin this new epic. And please READ and REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! This may be something really special, and I'd really love some feedback.

  
Chapter 54  


Link ran outside, where his friends, Malon, Zelda, the Forest Sage Saria, and Princess Saria were waiting. They had dried themselves off and now looked anxiously at Link.

Malon suspected the worst. "Link, tell me they didn't already take the mask."

"I can't tell you that," Link said grimly. "Because they took it."

Yeddop came out behind Link. "They were headed to the bazaar. We can get there quickly if we take my boat."

"You guys take the boat," Link said. "But I've got to go now!" Without a second thought, Link dove into the lake. He swam as fast as he could to the bazaar. He started getting a bit tired, but eventually he reached the bazaar. He surfaced out of the water and got to his feet. And standing in front of him, were Drekkin and Knigma.

"Hello, boy," Drekkin said sinisterly. "We finally meet again. I've waited months for this moment. But I'm a bit disappointed. I was hoping to have ALL my enemies here."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Saria or Malon or Zelda," Link said. "Come on, Drekkin. Think about it. Isn't it ME you really want?"

"I suppose you're right," Drekkin said ominously. "After all, it was YOU who ultimately defeated me and thwarted my plan to take the throne. So I shall take you down first. And after I am finished with you, then I will destroy your friends one-by-one. Then, I shall rule ALL of Hyrule!"

"Enough talk!" Knigma interrupted. "Just put the mask on and WASTE HIM!!"

Drekkin took the Mask of Majora and was about to put it on…

"HOLD IT!!!!"

All three of them looked to the entrance of the bazaar. It was Zacchuee. And he was pointing his bow right at Link.

"What is this?!" Zacchuee demanded. "I thought we banished you!"

Link stood speechless. Drekkin started chuckling, but it quickly stopped. Someone else had arrived. Link looked to his left to see that the Frihad Malon had arrived with a bow of her own. And she was pointing it right at Drekkin.

"I got to give you credit, Knigma," the Frihad Malon said. "I never would have thought of recruiting a wizard. Such a shame I have to kill him now."

"You talking to me?" Knigma asked. "Do I know you?"

"Nice try," Malon said, raising the bow even higher. "But you can't play dumb with me. I've figured out your little scheme and I'm about to take out your little insurance policy."

Zacchuee shifted his bow and pointed it at Malon. "Drop the bow, Frihad!"

"You heard him, Malon. DROP IT!!!"

Link looked to see that someone else was standing behind Malon. It was the other Knigma, the Forsverer Knigma. He had his own bow and was now pointing it at the Frihad Malon.

The original Knigma was shaking his head. "What the heck is going on here?! Who's killing who here?! And who is that HANDSOME guy over there?"

"I said drop it, Malon," the Forsverer Knigma said again. "I'm not letting you kill Zacchuee! I don't care if I have to throw the immunity agreement out the window, but I won't let you kill him!"

The Frihad Malon had a confused look on her face. She took quick glances between the two Knigmas. "Wait a minute! If you're there…then who's this?"

The Forsverer Knigma finally spotted the other Knigma. "Hey! Who the heck are you?"

Zacchuee noticed the other Knigma as well. "Hey! You're not Knigma! How dare you deceive me!!"

Suddenly, all the arrows were now pointed at Drekkin and Knigma. The heat was seemingly off Link and on the two villains. Link couldn't help but smirk.

"I'm sensing hostility here," Knigma observed.

"Who are you?!" the Frihad Malon demanded.

"Why are you disguised like me?!" the Forsverer Knigma shouted.

"Give us one good reason not to waste you!" Zacchuee added.

Just then, someone else arrived…or appeared. Out of thin air, appeared hundreds of Kokiri soldiers all armed with bows. And they were pointing them at everyone. And they were all lead by General Dore.

"NOBODY MOVE!!" Dore shouted. "Or we shoot everyone!"

"Oh GOD!!" Knigma shouted excruciatingly. "NOT YOU AGAIN!!"

"QUIET!!" Dore demanded. "Wretched Hylians! This is something I should have done a long time ago!" Dore suddenly spotted Link. "Troops! Aim that way! That one was one of the prisoners!"

The Kokiri aimed all their arrows at Link now. Link started sweating nervously.

"I'm going to give you one chance!" Dore said coldly. "You tell me where you took Princess Saria. Tell me! Or else I have my army kill everyone here!!"

"ENOUGH!!!" Drekkin shouted. "I have had it with these games!! But now, the games END!! Nobody will kill anybody!! The only one who dies is you, boy!! And it will be by MY HAND!!"

With those haunting words, Drekkin put on the Mask of Majora.

  
Chapter 55  


As soon as dawn cracked, it was time for Zelda to check into the Hotel Hylia. She walked in and saw the owners, Talon and Ingo, at the front desk.

"Welcome to the Hotel Hylia," Ingo greeted the farm girl. "Can we help you?"

"I-I'd like a room…to stay," Zelda said timidly.

"Hmm, we haven't seen you around," Talon said. "Are you new?"

"Y-Yes," Zelda said sadly. "I came here from the ranch. Actually, I've sort of been forced to come here."

"Forced?" Talon asked. "Why? Who's forced you?"

"The threats," Zelda answered gloomily. "I didn't want to endanger anyone at the ranch, so I've decided that to ensure their safety, I'm going to have to choose a side in the civil war. Of course, I still don't even know what side to join. What side are you on?"

Talon frowned. "Actually, we're neutral. Say, young lady, you aren't just going to pick a side because of those threats, are you?"

"You mean I shouldn't?" Zelda asked.

Talon shook his head. "No. Look at me and Ingo. We haven't chosen sides since this war began. We simply haven't let the pressure get to us."

Ingo opened a closet door to reveal hundreds of notes and rocks. "See, this is all the threats we've received."

"And we haven't been overcome by the pressure," Talon added. "And a beautiful young girl like yourself shouldn't be forced to make a choice either. Don't let it get to you."

"You really think I should stay neutral?" Zelda asked.

"If your heart says stay neutral, then that's what you should do" Talon answered. "Let THEM fight their stupid war. We'll just wait for it all to end."

"It might end sooner than you think."

Zelda, Talon, and Ingo looked at the door to see that there were two strangers standing there. One of them was a Kokiri boy. The other one, the one who had spoken, was a Hylian woman wearing a long white dress and had long red hair.

She came up to the counter. "You three are all neutral, aren't you?"

"Me and Ingo are," Talon answered. "But I don't know about her."

The mysterious woman looked at Zelda. "Well, are you neutral?"

Zelda stood silent, until she finally nodded. "Yes. I'm neutral. I'm not getting pulled into a war I don't want to be a part of."

"That's good to hear," the woman said. "Well, I have good news for you all. We may be able to finally end the Hylian Civil War once and for all. But…I'm just missing one thing."

"What's that?" Talon asked curiously.

"We need a picture or a painting of the evil one," the Kokiri answered. "Does anybody here have a picture or painting of the Villain of Time?"

Zelda didn't know and nor did she want to know. She had heard of the one called Link, the Villain of Time. And from all the stories she heard, he was someone to be extremely feared.

"I don't think so…" Talon said, in thought.

"Wait, Talon!" Ingo suddenly said. "What about that large painting we have? The one that was painted during his rampage in Kakariko Village? The one in the attic?"

"That's right!" Talon agreed. "We have one in the attic! And it should be in good condition."

"Then get it for me," the woman said. "That painting is the key for ending this war!"

Ingo ran up the stairs to retrieve the painting.

****CRASH****

Zelda flinched at that sudden crash of lightning. She went to look outside. There wasn't rain. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but the sky grew dark. The two strangers walked by Zelda.

"Ama?" the Kokiri asked. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"I'm afraid so," the one called 'Ama' said. "Someone's put on the Mask of Majora."

  
Chapter 56  


Link's worst fear had been realized. Lightning crashed down when Drekkin put on the Mask of Majora. When the lightning stopped, Drekkin stood and gave off an intimidating presence. His old shawl was replaced by a complete black cloak and the eyes of the mask gave off fire.

Even his sinister laughter had changed, into a much darker, eviler laughter. "At last, I now wield the power of Majora's Mask! And as I shall now demonstrate, ALL shall perish!!"

Drekkin waved his arm into the air. Then Link saw a familiar sight, one he never hoped to see again. A large grinning moon had appeared in the air and was now falling towards the world.

"The moon," Dore said somberly. "It's Moonfall all over again."

After the moon appeared, Link turned his gaze to Drekkin and quickly unleashed his sword. Everyone there had now moved to remote edge of the wooden platform, knowing that a battle was about to take place.

"And YOU!!" Drekkin said in his dark voice. "YOU shall be the first to DIE!!!"

He winded up a giant fireball and threw it at Link. He couldn't leap out of the way, or it would hit the Kokiri. So Link just stood there and took the fierce blow. He screamed in pain, as the fireball took effect.

"You weakling!!" Drekkin shouted. "That's not even a FRACTION of my powers!!"

Drekkin tossed a lightning bolt at the bazaar and it instantly exploded. There were no flames. It just exploded. As Link got up, Drekkin threw a bolt at him and knocked his sword out of his hand.

Link tried taking action. He grabbed an arrow and shot it at Drekkin. The arrow was lodged deeply into his shoulder. But to Link's shock, Drekkin just pulled it out. There was no visible wound.

Link's next move was to get an ice arrow. They had defeated Drekkin the first time, and he hoped they would beat him again. He aimed the ice arrow and shot it towards him. It was a direct hit and Drekkin froze in his tracks. Link breathed a sigh of relief, but then to his horror, the ice began to quickly thaw.

"Such cheap tricks," Drekkin said evilly. "Your toys will not work on me, boy! Don't you understand that?!" He threw an exploding ball of light at Link. When it connected, Link collapsed in pain.

Link tried slowly getting up. He pulled out his last resort, the light arrows. He tried aiming them, but Drekkin saw them coming. He threw a beam of light and knocked the bow out of Link's hand. Then Drekkin threw a beam of ice and hit Link's legs. Link's legs were now frozen. He couldn't move.

Drekkin laughed evilly as he approached Link. "It ends now. Now you die. And when you die, I shall kill all my other enemies who saw to my demise. And when this moon hits, this world shall die as well."

"What about you?!" Link pointed out. "If this world goes down, you go with it!"

"I have thought of that," Drekkin continued. "But by the time the moon collapses, I shall be in our world and I will use my power to take over Hyrule!! And I will rule as it was meant to be!!" His hand filled with electricity. "And now, boy. YOU DIE!!!"

But Drekkin was stopped in mid-delivery. His arms seemed to be restrained by unseen forces. Link didn't have to see them to know that it was the Kokiri army. There were too many of the boys grabbing Drekkin's limbs and the masked sorcerer couldn't move.

Drekkin tried shaking each one off, but to no avail. "Wretched insects! Get off of me!"

Then, behind Drekkin, Link saw his friends arrive. Yeddop, the farm girl Malon, Princess Zelda, the Forest Sage Saria, and Princess Saria all arrived. They saw that Drekkin was being held back.

"LINK!!" Yeddop shouted. "Reach over and take the mask off!!"

Link struggled to reach over and remove the mask. Finally he grasped it and removed it. The mask fell off Drekkin's face and fell to the ground. Drekkin staggered back and the mask stayed on the ground. But then something else happened.

The mask itself had come alive once more. This time, it grew a pair of thin arms and legs and roared. The mask immediately threw a deadly fireball directly at Drekkin. The sorcerer shrieked in agony and fell to the ground.

Then the mask was walking towards Link.

  
Chapter 57  


Link still couldn't go anywhere. His legs were still frozen to the ground. His sword and arrows were out of reach. The mask then came face to face with Link. This was just like back in Talmina when he fought the mask the first time. There was nothing Link could do now. The mask was holding its arms out and ready to strike.

Then a ray of light struck the mask. Link looked behind the mask to see that Princess Zelda was now holding the light in place. But it didn't last, the mask was too powerful. It was starting to move and motioned to strike Link again. Then a second ray of light hit it. That came from Princess Saria. Now the mask was completely immobile.

Link did the only thing he could do now. He reached over to the ground and grabbed a light arrow. He didn't have his bow, so he chucked the light arrow at the mask. The blinding light stunned the mask even further. Then Yeddop ran up to the mask.

He sprinkled some dust on the mask and began to recite: "Mask of Majora your terror is done, replace this moon with the power of sun, no longer to hurt or no longer to maim, return to the state from whence you came."

At those words, the mask's limbs began to fall apart. Maybe it wasn't how Link stopped the mask last time, but it was good enough. The mask now fell to the ground, sapped of any life. The grinning moon in the sky now disappeared. The skies finally cleared. The battle was over.

Link was ready to run over and greet his friends, but he quickly fell over. He was still stuck to the ground and his legs were still frozen.

"A little help?" Link pleaded.

The two princesses came over and thawed out the ice. Link was now able to move freely.

The Forsverer Knigma finally broke the awkward silence. "What was that? I've never seen anything like that since the evil one's path of destruction."

"I suppose you're going to blame THAT on us too," the Frihad Malon said bitterly.

Princess Saria looked behind Link to find someone else. "Dore?"

General Dore nodded. "Princess Saria. I'm glad I found you before these kidnappers did anything to you."

"Kidnappers?" Princess Saria asked in disbelief. "Dore, they didn't kidnap me. I went with them. I let them out and went with them. This was completely my choice."

"You released these prisoners and left the castle without telling anybody?" Dore demanded. "How could you do that?"

"Come on, Dore!" Princess Saria shouted. "It's obvious that none of you were going to do anything to stop the Hylian Civil War. So if you weren't doing anything, then I decided to take matters into my own hands. I came to try and stop the civil war peacefully."

Dore groaned. "Don't you get it? They're not stopping. And we shouldn't care, either. After all the damage they caused with their evil one."

"It wasn't our evil one," the Forsverer Knigma quickly said. He pointed a finger at the Frihad Malon. "It was THEIR evil one."

"You creep!" the Frihad Malon shouted. "I told you we didn't know about that."

"We warned you!" the Forsverer Knigma shot back. "We knew that kid was trouble from day one. We knew that kid was evil."

"Isn't there any way you two can reach an agreement?" Princess Saria pleaded.

"Not until they pay for bringing the evil one on us," the Forsverer Knigma responded.

"Not until they admit we had nothing to do with it," the Frihad Malon replied.

"WAIT!!"

Everyone looked back to see that another boat arrived. Link recognized everyone on the boat. It was Amanecera and Sodo, and they were holding a giant painting. And behind them, were Talon, Ingo, and the farm girl Zelda.

Amanecera cleared her throat. "I think I have something that can put an end to all this."   
Chapter 58  


Everyone looked anxiously at Amanecera and Sodo to see what they had to end the war. And what that painting was.

"You have something to end the war?" the Forsverer Knigma scoffed. "Somehow I doubt that."

"What is it, Ama?" Princess Saria asked.

"It's evidence that the Frihads were not to blame for the emergence of the evil one," Ama answered. "It's evidence that no one was to blame, not even the evil one himself."

"What?" the Frihad Malon asked.

"That's impossible," the Forsverer Knigma said.

Ama held up the large painting. It the mid-background, he could see himself creating mass destruction. Link saw that it looked a lot like him, but a lot different. He saw the blond hair, but he honestly couldn't see any other resemblance besides the black tunic.

"This picture was painted during the destruction of Kakariko Village," Sodo explained. "It proves that no one was to blame for anything."

Everyone looked at the painting to try and find what they meant.

"I don't see anything," the Forsverer Knigma said.

"There's nothing there," the Frihad Malon added.

"Look closer," Ama said.

It was about a minute and nobody saw anything in that painting. Then it was Yeddop who saw it.

"Oh my goodness! He's wearing the Mask of Majora!"

Upon hearing that, Link squinted his eyes and saw that he indeed was wearing the evil mask.

"That's right," Ama confirmed. "He wore the Mask of Majora. The malicious actions weren't those of Link, but of the evil mask itself. It proves once and for all that no one was responsible for all that destruction."

The Forsverer Knigma looked at the Frihad Malon. "So if you had nothing to do with this, then what have we been fighting about?"

The Frihad leader seemed to be shedding a tear. "I knew it. I knew he wasn't evil."

"So he really wasn't evil at all?" Princess Saria asked. "It was just the mask?"

"That's what I believe," Ama answered. "Especially since Link was just growing up as a normal Hylian boy. He had everything a normal Hylian boy had which included a home, friends…and crushes. Am I right, Malon?"

The Malon in black looked shockingly at Amanecera. "How did you know that?"

"From all I learned of Link's background, I noticed that he was around you more than anyone," Ama continued. "When he first came as an orphan, you were his first friend. And eventually you became more than friends, didn't you?"

The Frihad Malon nodded.

"That's what you meant, didn't you?" Zelda asked. "When you talked about an ex-boyfriend, you meant Link."

The parallel Malon nodded again. "We were friends, but as we grew up together we became more than friends. But then he left, and the Villain of Time emerged. When he was ultimately defeated, that ended our relationship."

"Wait a minute!" Link suddenly said. "That's the one thing of all this I don't understand. Just how WAS the Villain of Time defeated?"

Silence.

"I think I can answer that," Dore finally said. "After the rampage in Kakariko Village, the Villain of Time was seen heading towards Death Mountain. So I decided to go after him. When I reached Death Mountain, I saw the Villain of Time on the ground lying motionless. His tunic had been completely ravaged. By what, I don't know. He was dead, but I didn't believe that at first. I always feared that he might come alive again, since nobody had seen what attacked him. For all I knew, he might have been playing possum. So I called the army and had them take the evil one down to the charred village. Then, after hours of work, we buried him deep under the well. It was the one place no one would look. And if he was alive, then it would contain him for eternity."

Link realized what this meant. "It was the mask that killed him, wasn't it?"

"If that is true, then it all makes sense now," Yeddop chimed in. "When the Villain of Time first attacked Kakariko Village, I was making a business trip to Death Mountain. When I came back down, the village had already been destroyed. But amidst the rubble, I saw a mask. It was the Mask of Majora. I didn't know how it got there, until now. After Link destroyed the village, the mask must have rejected him as a wearer. So it came off his face and destroyed him."

"So no one's really to blame here," the Forsverer Knigma said. Then he looked at Yeddop. "Except that mask! Yeddop, you have to get rid of that thing!"

Yeddop clutched the mask to his chest. "No! I cannot discard the mask. It is far too rare. I'll never see another one like it."

"It's too dangerous, Yeddop," Ama said. "That mask nearly destroyed our entire civilization."

Yeddop didn't say anything. He just handed the mask to Amanecera. She, in turn, handed it to Link.

"You'd better dispose of this," Ama told Link. "I think you know a better way to destroy it anyway."

Link had an idea. He took out his Megaton Hammer. He winded up and crushed the mask. Unfortunately, it stayed in one piece.

"So much for that idea," the farm girl Malon said cynically. "Maybe we should just carry it with us until we find a good place to put it."

"I think you're right," Link agreed. He took the Mask of Majora and put it in his tunic. Link then walked over to someone who had stayed silent for far too long. He was silent because he was kneeling over the fallen Drekkin. Link walked over to Knigma.

  
Chapter 59  


The first thing Link noticed was that Knigma was trying to find a pulse on Drekkin.

Knigma suddenly screamed. "He's DEAD! NO! NO! HE'S DEAD!!"

"Well I can't say he didn't have it coming," Link said. "He tampered with a force he couldn't control."

"But he CAN'T be dead!" Knigma shouted. "He CAN'T die!! Not now!!"

"Get over it, Knigma," Zelda said coldly. "It just means you'll be a bit more lonely in your old cell."

"No, you're not understanding me here," Knigma said deliriously. "He CAN'T be dead! If he's dead, then you WON'T be taking me back to my cell!"

"What are you talking about?" Zelda demanded.

"Are you dense, woman?!" Knigma shouted. "Don't you get it?! Who do you think brought us here?! Who do you think created all those portals?! It was Drekkin!! It was all Drekkin!!"

Link gulped nervously. "Drekkin did it? He's the one who brought us all here?" He looked nervously at Zelda. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

Zelda nodded grimly. "If Drekkin's dead, then we have no way out. We're stuck here!"

* * *

"Ok, stand back!!"

After hearing every detail about the portal, Nabooru was finally ready to try again. But this time, she had something that could help her. She now held the Forest Medallion in her hand.

Sodo, Somi, and Mira stepped back as Nabooru motioned the portal to open. Lightning began striking in the sky, despite the sky being completely cloudless. A portal then opened, spanning from wall to wall and floor to ceiling.

"Did it look like this?!" Nabooru asked, elevating her voice over the fierce winds.

"YES!!" Somi and Mira shouted.

Nabooru looked down at the Forest Medallion. Just as she had hoped, the Forest Medallion began glowing green. This was it. This was where Saria was.

"I'm going in!!" Nabooru shouted. She braved the powerful winds and leapt into the portal, leaving the Forest Temple and heading towards a strange dimension.

  
Chapter 60  


This was hopeless. Drekkin and the Mask of Majora were both defeated. The Hylian Civil War had just about come to end. But it was still hopeless. Because of Drekkin's untimely death, Link and all of his friends were now stuck in this foreign dimension.

Link and his three companions were just sitting under the large tree on the island above the Water Temple. Knigma was left tied up behind the tree. They just sat looking at the stars and contemplating everything that happened.

"So it's over?" Link asked. "The war?"

"I think Knigma and Malon are set to finalize a treaty tomorrow," Zelda answered. "I must say, they are diplomatic."

"At least we won't be living in a world of war," Malon said. "I can't believe we're really stuck here."

Link saw the grim looks on everyone's faces, but no grimmer than the one Saria had.

"You're thinking about them again, aren't you?" Link asked.

Saria nodded sadly. "I can't forget them, Link. Everything they said, they were right. I did end up leaving them again. And I'll never see them again. I only wish I could see them one last time."

"I wish you could too."

Everyone looked up to see that Princess Saria, the farm girl Zelda, Sodo, and Amanecera had now joined them under the tree.

"I wish there were something we could do," Ama said somberly. "But I'm afraid that I really DON'T have all the answers."

"Here, Saria. I want you to have these," Princess Saria said. She handed the forest girl three necklaces. They were necklaces of three doves. "I was hoping to give them to you when you left, but it looks like you're staying. But I want you to have them anyway."

The Forest Sage Saria looked down at the necklaces. "T-They're beautiful."

"These necklaces and their doves represent love and friendship," Princess Saria added. "I figure that you'll be able to use them better than I would. Since you have so many friends, then they'll be much better in your hands."

"Thank you, Saria," the Forest Sage Saria said tearfully. "But I'm afraid I'll never see any of my friends ever again."

"Maybe we can cheer you up," Sodo said. Princess Saria glared at him. "Well…we can try. Let's just bring her this way. Give everyone else some privacy."

Sodo and Princess Saria picked up the Forest Sage Saria and took her to the edge of the island, where they sat. Then the farm girl Zelda came and sat between Link and Zelda.

She looked at Princess Zelda. "I can't believe it. You look exactly like me. But how?"

Link looked up at Ama.

"I…haven't told her everything," Ama said sheepishly. "Give me a break, I've only known her for a few hours."

The farm girl Zelda looked closer at her parallel self. "I…don't have a twin, do I?"

Link sighed. "I think it's time we talked."

* * *

As much as they wanted to try, nothing was going to cheer up Saria. In a way, this was worlds worse than when she was forced to leave her village to live in the Forest Temple. Now she would never see her friends…or her entire world ever again.

"What was everyone like, Saria," Princess Saria asked. "The Kokiri. What were they like?"

Saria took a deep breath. It wouldn't be easy to talk about her old friends. "They were all wonderful. Sure, at times Fala and Ralo would gossip about me or Miso would always say the wrong thing, but they were always my friends. Domi was always supportive, even when he raised his price higher than the sky. Rala could be vain, but she was always around whenever anybody needed her. Sofa, Dila, and Dore would always be getting into trouble when they weren't busy with their training. Mido always used to be overbearing before he changed one day. Sodo…is the love of my life and I'll always love him. And Somi and Mira are my best friends…I think." Her voice began cracking. "But what do I know? They were nervous about resuming our friendship because they thought something might happen and now look! Something DID happen. And now I'll never see them again."

Silence.

* * *

"So you mean you're from a parallel universe?" the farm girl Zelda asked.

"Exactly," Link nodded.

"We're all different over there," Malon added. "Link's the HERO of Time, Saria's the Forest Sage, I'M the farm girl, and you're the princess."

The farm girl Zelda's face glowed at that. "I-I-I'm the princess?"

"That's right," Princess Zelda said. "You are me and I am you. I'm the Princess of Hyrule. I'm Zelda."

"But something still bothers me though," the farm girl Zelda continued. "I didn't see you at the ranch. Where were you?"

"You must have seen this me," Princess Zelda smiled. She put on the hood. "You must have seen Sheik."

Silence. Neither Zelda said anything.

"I only know it'll be confusing to live as practically twins," Princess Zelda finally said. "For one thing, I'll have to change my name to Selma."

"Well, maybe we'll get used to life here," Link said. He looked out into the lake. "I mean, it IS our home now."

****CRASH****

Lightning shot down from the sky.

"W-W-What was that?" the farm girl Zelda asked.

"It sure sounded familiar," Malon said.

Link agreed with that notion. It DID sound familiar. Then he looked behind him to see that a portal was opening.

"NO WAY!" Knigma shouted from behind the tree. "HOW?!"

Suddenly a familiar figure came out of the portal and landed on one of the huge tree's branches. It was a friendly figure too. It was Nabooru.

  
Chapter 61  


Link could see that Nabooru was holding something in her hand. It was the Forest Medallion and it was glowing green. She was looking everywhere, seemingly trying to find someone.

"Saria?!" Nabooru shouted out. "Where are you?!"

The Forest Sage Saria looked up at the tree. "Nabooru?! I'm down here!"

The Spirit Sage jumped down the tree, right in front of the two Sarias and Sodo. "How about that? I caught a break. I finally found you."

"How did you find me?" the Forest Sage Saria asked.

"Well, for some reason, Sodo thought I could help," Nabooru answered. "So he came to ask me for help at the Spirit Temple. I much have spent hundreds of hours trying to find the right dimension and thanks to the Forest Medallion, I finally found it. But we've got get back home."

"Home?" Saria asked cheerfully. "I'm going home?" She turned around and looked happily at Sodo and Princess Saria. "I'm going home!"

"That's great, Saria!" Princess Saria said, as she gave her parallel self a hug. "But…I'm going to miss you. It was good to have someone like me to talk to. Someone who didn't stifle me after every other word."

"What about Sodo?" the Forest Sage asked.

Sodo shook his head. "I couldn't just leave Amanecera. We've known each other for so long. She's been the only one I've known since I left the castle."

"Couldn't she come with you?" the Forest Sage Saria asked.

This time, it was Princess Saria who shook her head. "I don't think anyone would allow that. Especially General Dore."

The Forest Sage Saria folded her arms. "You leave the general to me. I have a plan. Just come over this way. Sodo, go get the general for me." She led Princess Saria behind the tree where no one could see them. Sodo ran off through the wooden walkway to the lone wooden sign, where General Dore could be seen standing.

"Hey!" Nabooru shouted. "We've got to get going. We don't have much time, you know!"

Link took this time to acknowledge his presence. He started walking up to Nabooru and soon found himself followed by Malon and Princess Zelda. Amanecera and the farm girl Zelda stayed where they were sitting, just looking curiously at the other three.

"I don't think that portal's closing anytime soon," Link said.

Nabooru suddenly turned around. "Link? Malon? Zelda? What are you three doing here?"

Link looked confusedly at the Gerudo girl. "You…don't know?"

"We were sucked into this parallel universe too," Malon clarified.

"You mean you didn't know that? You didn't even know we were here?" Zelda asked.

"I just heard Saria got pulled in here," Nabooru answered. "And I came to get her, before IT happened."

"IT?" Link repeated. "Something else for us to worry about?"

"Not if we get Saria back to the temple in time," Nabooru replied. "What's she doing?"

It seemed that Amanecera couldn't wait anymore. She stood up and walked over to Nabooru, followed closely by the farm girl Zelda. Ama was now looking curiously at the Spirit Sage.

"What's with her?" Nabooru asked Link. "She's never seen a Gerudo before?"

"Actually…" Ama said. "I haven't. I don't think anybody has. This is the first Gerudo sighting around these parts in many years."

"You don't have Gerudo here?" Malon asked.

"The Gerudo haven't been seen in years," Ama answered. "Not even since before I left to go live in the cave. Gerudo around these parts are practically nonexistent."

"A world without Gerudo?" Nabooru said. "This place must be worse than I thought. We'd better get back to our world. Just what IS Saria doing?"

Just as she said that, Sodo came back with General Dore right behind him.

"Ok, this better be good," the general said. "What did you bring me here for?"

"I don't know," Sodo shrugged. "It's just that Princess Saria requested your presence."

"Well, where is she?" Dore demanded.

Suddenly, behind the trees, out came the two Sarias. Princess Saria made a beeline towards General Dore.

"What is it, Princess Saria?" Dore asked dryly.

"We've been through a lot, Dore," Princess Saria began. "I mean, despite your complete unwillingness to do anything, we've managed to put an end to the Hylian Civil War. But there's still something that we must do."

"And what's that?"

"Our old friend, Sodo, is ready to come back into our Kokiri family," Princess Saria continued. "But he's spent so many years around this girl, Amanecera. They've become very good friends. And that's why I'm proposing that she move in right along with him."

"Forget it," Dore said firmly. "I won't have any Hylians living under our castle roof."

"But I insist," Princess Saria said. "After all they've done, I think it's the least we could do."

"Tell someone who cares," Dore said coldly.

Then Princess Saria did something that no one thought she was capable of. She stood right in the face of Dore. She wasn't backing down.

"Oh, you'll care!" Princess Saria said through clenched teeth. "Let me tell you something, Dore! I'm getting just a little SICK and TIRED of NEVER being listened to! Now Sodo is my friend, and I'm willing to do anything for him. That's why I'm going out of my way to get Amanecera into our home. But you want to be SELFISH! And I won't have it!!

"You can argue with me all you want, but don't you forget. I'm a part of this royal triumvirate too! And if you think you or anyone else in the cabinet is going to keep bullying me, then you'd better think again! I have a voice too, and it won't be silent any longer! I'm not going to take this anymore!

"So I'm going to ask you again, General Dore! No, I am DEMANDING that Sodo and Amanecera come home with us! And if anyone in the cabinet has a problem with that, then that's their problem! So what do you say?!"

Silence. Link couldn't believe the sudden outburst of indignation by Princess Saria. Obviously, Dore couldn't either. He was almost shaking. Something the Forest Sage Saria said must've sunk in, because Princess Saria was finally standing up for herself.

"I guess I can't argue with that. They can come too," General Dore said. "Wow, Princess Saria. I've never seen this side of you before."

"It's a new side of me," Princess Saria responded. "Something you'll be seeing a lot more of if I don't start getting some respect. I'm not going to be treated like a stepchild anymore. I want to be treated like everyone else. Like a part of the family."

"I-I guess that can be arranged," Dore said nervously. "We'll talk more when we get back. Should we get going?"

"You take the army and get a head start," Princess Saria said. "We'll catch up to you. First, we have to say goodbye to our friends."

Dore stood nervously at first, but then he left to go retrieve the rest of the Kokiri army.

Link looked at the Forest Sage Saria. "I have to know. What did you tell her? What made her stand up for herself?"

It was Princess Saria who answered. "Link, I'm surprised you weren't the first to notice." She walked up to the Forest Sage. "Well, what did you think?"

The Forest Sage just looked in awe. "I can't believe it. I didn't think anybody could stand up to Dore like that, much less Princess Saria. How could I ever thank you?"

"Just follow what I just did," Princess Saria answered. "Just have confidence in yourself and don't take anything from them anymore. Remember: You're the Princess and a part of the royal triumvirate. You should have as much respect as any of your peers and there will be times when you'll have to remind them that." She fidgeted with her dress. "How do you live with this thing? It weighs a ton."

Link was getting confused. "Wait a minute! What's going on here?"

Princess Saria smiled at Link. "Link, are you telling me you still can't see it?"

It hit Malon first. "You two switched clothes, didn't you?"

The Forest Sage Saria (dressed as Princess Saria) smiled. "Nice to see someone saw it."

Nabooru cleared her throat. "Uh…we do have to be going. I don't think there's much time left. Will the real Saria of Kokiri Forest please step forward?"

The Saria in the dress stepped forward and stood by Link. "Well, I think it's time for me to go."

"I'll miss you, Saria," Princess Saria said.

"I will too," the elegant Forest Sage said. No more words were exchanged. Nabooru tossed a rope up to the tree, leaving a path to the portal. The Forest Sage Saria climbed the tree, and at long last, went through the portal back to her own universe. Malon and Princess Zelda soon followed. Nabooru went in next. Link held Knigma and was about to go in, but he hesitated.

Link looked back one last time. The beautiful Lake Hylia was now in peace.

"I'm going back to my dungeon, aren't I?" Knigma asked bitingly.

"You better believe it," Link responded. "You go back in as soon as we get home."

Knigma snickered insanely. "In that case…you'd better go in first!"

Suddenly, Knigma revealed that he had loosened the ropes. He shook off the ropes and kicked Link inside the portal. Link was now flying back to his own universe, but the sinister Knigma stayed behind.

  
Chapter 62  


Knigma had done it. He had outsmarted everyone. Ok, so he would never see anyone from his old world again, but that was a small price to pay. He was never liked anyway. He kicked Link back into the portal and the portal closed forever. Knigma was now left in the parallel Hyrule, and would not have to go back to that grimy dungeon.

Knigma climbed down the tree triumphantly. He saw that everyone who saw the others leave were now heading out. Knigma was all alone…and a free man. This called for a celebration.

Knigma cockily started walking away, but he was suddenly stopped. Unseen, and familiar, forces were now restraining him. Knigma groaned as he was thrust to the ground. Out of thin air, appeared the Kokiri army who now had Knigma completely restrained. Then, in front of him, appeared General Dore.

"Well, look what I found," General Dore smirked. "If it isn't my first escapee. I guess I won't be leaving Lake Hylia empty-handed, now will I? Pick him up, troops. We're taking this one to the dungeon."

The dungeon. The worst two words Knigma could hear. After all he had done, he was even worse off than when he had started. Now he would spend life in the dungeon…of a foreign universe. Knigma could only utter one word.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

On this dark of night, there would be no sleep. This would have to be done as soon as possible. This is why the Forsverer Knigma chose to visit the Hotel Hylia. It was finally time to formally end the Hylian Civil War. Standing in front of Knigma were the hotel owners Talon and Ingo. And standing by the counter with a parchment, was Malon.

"Are you ready?" Knigma asked.

Malon nodded. "Let me be the first to sign this peace treaty, ending the civil war forever. It couldn't come soon enough for me."

Knigma sympathized. "I'm sorry. I lost a lot in all this too. I just feel so stupid. All I did was look for someone to blame. Because I knew I couldn't take out my anger on anyone else."

"You think I wasn't angry," Malon said, as she finished signing. "My boyfriend, the man that I loved, was killed by a force of evil. I felt so…angry. I couldn't direct it anywhere else, so when we were hit with all the accusations, I welcomed the war, instead of trying to stop it. And I pretty much directed my anger at all the wrong places…" she glanced at her father, Talon. "…And that included my family. Dad, will you forgive me?"

"Of course, Malon," Talon said warmly. "You're my daughter and I love you. And no mask and no war could change that. It just took me a while to realize it."

As the father and daughter embraced, Knigma took the pen and signed the treaty. It was done. The Hylian Civil War was now formally, and officially, over.

Knigma sighed. "So what happens now?"

Malon looked outside into Lake Hylia, wearing a solemn expression. "We move on."

* * *

Link knew that travelling between dimensions was not a fast process. He was still floating in limbo, when a thought finally hit him. He reached into his tunic and pulled out the Mask of Majora. This was the second time in his life that the evil mask had nearly destroyed his entire life and demolished an entire world. It was far too dangerous to keep around anywhere.

Link then did the one thing that would ensure that the Mask of Majora never fall into the wrong hands. Link tossed the evil mask into the floating nothingness of the portal's limbo. The mask slowly floated into oblivion.

Having dealt with that problem, Link felt much more at ease. With the Mask of Majora neutralized once and for all, Link just happily waited for the light at the end of the portal.

  
Chapter 63  


It felt like an eternity, but Saria finally fell out of the portal. She got to her feet and looked around to see her familiar surroundings. It was the main entrance hall of the Forest Temple. She was finally home. She didn't get much more chance to look around, because Sodo quickly came to lovingly embrace the returning Forest Sage.

"You're here," Sodo said happily. "You're alive. I knew we'd find you." He pulled back and looked at Saria strangely. Saria looked at herself. She was still wearing Princess Saria's dress.

"Actually, I'm not the only you found," Saria said. She stepped back. The portal was still open and sure enough, out fell Malon and Princess Zelda.

"You got stuck too?" Sodo asked. "How many more are coming?"

Just as he said that, Nabooru fell out of the portal.

"Well, there's me," Nabooru answered, getting to her feet. "And there's Link and that other guy."

"Well, where IS Link?" Malon asked. "Didn't he go in right after us?"

Finally, Link fell screaming out of the portal. The portal finally closed, ending this tumultuous chapter of Saria's life. But there was someone missing.

"Link?" Zelda asked. "Where's Knigma?"

Link got up. "I think he decided to stay. He just kicked me in."

"You mean he's just going to get away with all this then?" Zelda said angrily.

"Don't let it get to you, Zelda," Link said assuredly. "As long as he's out of our lives for good, I won't be complaining." He gleamed at Malon. "Is it time for us to go?"

Malon nodded. "I think everyone at the ranch will be wondering what happened to us. And besides, it's been a long time since we had a romantic walk in the night."

"Then we'll be taking our leave," Link said. He looked at Nabooru. "Just one question. Why was it so important we get Saria back here so fast."

Nabooru just looked up innocently. "I…think it's better you don't know. Of course, I probably should tell Saria someday."

"Then I won't ask," Link said. "Zelda, are you coming?"

"How else am I getting home?" Zelda asked dryly. "Lead the way."

As her three friends sought the exit to the Forest Temple, Saria realized that there was something she had to do. "Sodo? Where are Somi and Mira?"

"Asleep," Sodo answered. "I don't think they've slept since you left."

"But I've been gone for weeks," Saria pointed out. "You mean they haven't slept?"

Sodo shook his head. "They were too worried about you to sleep. They didn't want to lose you again. And I can't blame them. I'd have hated to lose you too."

"I have to talk to them," Saria said somberly.

"Saria, wait."

"What is it?" Saria asked.

Sodo looked at Saria curiously. "What…are you wearing?"

Saria looked at herself. "It's…a long story. I'll tell you later." With that, she left to go find her two friends.

* * *

Sodo couldn't help but wonder where that pink dress had come from, but he was more than glad to have Saria back safe. He then saw that he wasn't the only one who questioned Saria's choice in fashion.

"I never believed pink was her color. She should stick to green," Nabooru grinned. She looked down at Sodo. "Well, I think my work here is done. It's time I get back to my own before the Gerudo start asking questions." 

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?" Sodo asked.

"I have a feeling Saria needs this time to herself," Nabooru answered. "Besides, I'll see her again. We're sages. We can't go too long without seeing each other. Give her my best." She started heading out towards the basement. "But I've got to admire you, Sodo. Sometimes I wish I had someone who cared about me as much as you care about Saria."

"Really?"

"Of course. I've seen what you two have. It's a wonderful thing."

"I have to thank you again, Nabooru. How can I repay you?"

Nabooru didn't take too long to think about it. "Don't let anything come between you two, not even the whole sage thing."

At the sound of those wise words, Nabooru went into the basement. Sodo was all alone, but he knew he wasn't alone. He still felt good to have Saria back.

  
Chapter 64/Conclusion  


Saria walked into the vast room near the main entrance hall. While Stalfos once inhabited this room, it was now where Somi and Mira slept. It was a lot of effort to convert the place into a livable room, but they eventually did it. They were fast asleep and Saria knew it. They had stayed awake for days without sleep. A part of her wanted to let them sleep, but this was too important.

"Somi? Mira?"

The two girls woke up and saw Saria standing there. They immediately rushed to embrace the returning Forest Sage.

"Saria, is it really you?"

"We thought we'd never see you again."

"I'm ok," Saria said assuredly. "I'm just glad to be back. Back home with all my friends."

That suddenly struck something in the two girls.

"Saria, I'm sorry for what happened the other day," Somi said. "I didn't mean to say what I did."

"Me either," Mira added. "We couldn't stand to think of what would happen if we ended our friendship."

Saria shed a tear. "I'm happy to hear that. I know we may not always believe it, but I believe that we'll be friends forever. That's why I wanted to give you these." She took out the necklaces that Princess Saria had given her and handed one to Somi and Mira.

"T-They're beautiful," Somi said as she marveled at the dove necklace.

Saria wore one of her familiar expressions. "Even if the day comes when something were to happen, these necklaces will be a symbol of our everlasting friendship."

Silence. Nothing more was said, as the three girls just thought about those sagacious words.

"Uh, Saria," Somi said, finally breaking the silence. "Can I ask you something?

"Sure, Somi," Saria said cheerfully. "What is it?"

"What…are you wearing?"

Saria looked down and shook her head. "It's a little something I got from…a friend."

"What's this friend like?" Mira asked.

Saria smiled. She thought of everything she had gone through in the other universe and all the stories she would be telling her friends in the next few days. But for now, she would only say this.

"She's…a lot like me."

* * *

After days and days of travelling without a horse, Princess Zelda was never so sick of walking in her life. But there it was. Hyrule Castle was right in front of her. She was finally home.

She walked into the castle and was greeted by many of the castle's guards, and obviously questioned about her recent whereabouts. All she did was give a few vague answers. But there was something she had to do. On her way in, she saw literally hundreds of arrows on the ground.

"Why are there hundreds of arrows out there?" Zelda asked one of the guards. "Has there been a battle?"

The guard shook his head. "No, princess. Perhaps you should ask your three personal guards."

Somehow, Zelda should have known. She walked out to the courtyard, and sure enough, there were Kreature, Krash, and Og shooting arrows out over the roof.

"What are you three doing?" Zelda asked.

The three looked to their left. They stopped shooting their arrows and threw the bows to the side.

"I knew that we'd get it eventually," Og said.

"Maybe it wasn't such a hair-brained scheme after all," Kreature added.

The same guard ran out next to Zelda. "Now can we get rid of them? These three have been causing disturbances for days. We haven't been able to stop them."

"You can't do that," Zelda said firmly. "Because…I wouldn't be back if it wasn't for these three."

"What do you mean?" the guard asked. COMBAT looked on curiously as well.

"You haven't asked them where I've been?" Zelda asked.

"They just said some gibberish about a portal," the guard answered. "But that's silly."

"Silly?!" Zelda demanded. "I should have you punished. They were telling the truth and I just came back now." She looked and gleamed over towards the three lizards. "In fact, it was them who brought me back."

"They did?" the guard asked.

"We did?" the lizards added.

It was obviously a lie, but Zelda decided to run with this one. "Their arrow shooting must have re- triggered the portal and brought me back home. I owe these three my life, and frankly, I don't appreciate your cynicism."

"But…"

"Nothing!" Zelda shouted. "Get out of my sight. I need to be alone."

The guard left Zelda alone with the three reptilian guards. She saw that they were looking skeptically at each other. As much of a lie as it was, Zelda decided to stick with it. What harm would it do to let COMBAT take the credit on this one? She figured they could use the confidence booster.

"Was it really us who opened that portal?" Og asked.

"What do you know? I guess we did something right," Kreature added.

"But…uh…maybe we should lay off the arrows for a while," Krash said. "Where were you, Zelda?"

"I…don't want to talk about it right now," Zelda replied. "I just want to go to bed."

Zelda walked out of the courtyard and headed to her room. It was a wonderful experience for the most part. Seeing how different Hyrule was and how different the people were. It was even kind of revealing to see herself as a farm girl. It gave a new insight to herself and she even had a new respect for Malon. She would go back and reflect on what she saw.

But right now…she wanted to forget.

* * *

"So after everything we've shared with each other, you just kept this from me?"

Link shook his head. "Come on, Malon. For the thousandth time, I'm sorry. I just didn't know how you'd take it if I told you I almost lost Epona."

They were finally home, but it wasn't exactly a friendly trip home. The entire trip back to the ranch, Malon and Link argued. Link never wanted to reveal anything about his trip to the world of Talmina. But the meeting with Amanecera forced to let out that secret. And that secret infuriated Malon, especially since she thought Link shared everything with her. Of course the other reason Link didn't want to say anything was because Malon would have his head if she ever found out that he almost lost Epona. Too late. He was having his head handed to him.

"Well you should be sorry," Malon said indignantly. "You almost lost my favorite horse. And it explains everything from that day."

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

"That day all those years ago," Malon clarified. "When you were gone for days, but came back with only a bottle of milk and Epona. When I asked you where you'd been, you told me you were at Zora's Domain the whole day."

Link gulped nervously. He never thought that lie would come back to haunt him, but then again he thought of the alternative. He could've told Malon that he went to a parallel dimension after almost losing Epona.

"I thought we didn't have anymore secrets," Malon continued. "Now I can only wonder what else you're keeping from me."

Link only shook his head again. "Maybe I'll tell you the whole story someday. But I need to sleep right now."

"Me too," Malon said. She gently kissed Link on the forehead and smiled. "Before I go to sleep, I just wanted to say that I love you…and you're sleeping in the stable tonight."

"Aw come on," Link whined. "There are married couples out there who don't make each other sleep in stables."

"You can talk with Epona the whole night," Malon smirked. "Talk about your adventures with Skullkid." With that, she turned around and headed back into her room.

"I'm going to remember this," Link said vainly. "I just hope you don't have any secrets you're keeping from me."

He walked into the stable and stood by Epona. The horse was still awake and bobbing her head around.

"You remember everything, don't you?" Link asked Epona. "The giant clock, the giant moon, the hundreds of Ingos."

Just then, Link heard some hysterical laughing. Ingo popped out from a corner and headed towards the door. He was apparently doing his chores and had just finished.

"Hundreds of Ingos," Ingo repeated. "Wouldn't that be a perfect world?" Still laughing, he headed out.

Link just shrugged. As he stood next to Epona, he realized that sleeping in the stable might not be so bad. It was the stable, but it was HIS stable in HIS world. As much as he marveled over all he had seen, he was finally glad to be home. He was glad to be in HIS world once more.

He just hoped this was the last he would ever see of the Mask of Majora.

  
THE END   


Comments? Feel free to review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail/aol.com.


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